Flashback
by PumpkinSnitch
Summary: We know lots about Tony, Ziva and Gibbs. But why don't we know so much about Tim McGee? Is anybody else suspicious of his fears of maggots and heights? Why did he have to go to therapy as a kid? Focuses on teen!McGee up to the Tim we know now. Some OCs
1. Myso Valley

**Hey everyone! Just warning you this may get darker in later chapters, and it will feature some OCs. You know how Tim McGee has so many unanswered traits and questions about his character? Like we know basically everything about Tony and Gibbs, but why do we not know why Tim's afraid of heights or maggots? Why did he go to therapy when he was young? I wanna know! So until a really good Tim legacy episode comes along, I'm writing the answers here. Enjoy!**

Summer really was the best season to be a kid in Myso Valley, California. Of course, very few people would know that. The town was so small it wouldn't show up on any map; you couldn't find it if you were looking for it. Although, those who lived there might wonder why you would be looking for such a place at all. With a population barely reaching 230, it was affectionately called many names by its residents, chiefly The Wrong Side of No Tracks, Hufker's Folly, or Hootersville. Of course, none of these nicknames would make sense if one wasn't familiar with the area...

The biggest attraction the town had to offer was the Hooters. Granted, it was a well kept place, but the appeal only reached to young college students with time off, escaping Alameda for awhile. And honestly, there was no policy about public drinking limits in Myso, so after a certain time of night, customers stopped eating, but continued their heavy drinking. It could get pretty dangerous.

It had always been dangerous, though. Philip Hufker found that out the hard way, when he founded the town way back during the time of the Gold Rush. He thought it would be a good idea, and it almost was, until he actually struck gold, and was killed for it by bandits. Ironically, the Hooters was built over his former property. Rest in peace, Mr. Hufker.

The town had no train tracks, but the boys of Myso Valley had a reputation for being...those boys. The boys every girls' parents dreaded their daughter meeting. The boys from the wrong side of the tracks. Who came up with the idea, no one knows. But it was an unspoken rule that the teenagers of Myso Valley were to be avoided.

But the dusty little town wasn't home to strictly bad people. Those born there loved their shops, their church, their grocery store. And they loved seeing the kids of the summer season. These were the handful of kids whose parents dropped them off, with a half hearted kiss or hug, and then sped back to civilization. Five of those kids were military brats, who lived near each other in Alameda, and were best friends. Those five specifically, were town favorites, because they were polite, respectful, and helpful.

Take for example, Alex Charter, the 16 year old son of a Navy commander, who couldn't be trusted with staying alone all summer while his parents traveled. He was shipped out to stay with his grandmother in Myso Valley, setting the chain reaction that followed.

James Wilson, the impulsive 15 year old (15 and a half, as he would constantly remind everyone) had to bunk with his uncle -who spent all day at a bar- while his step dad and mother were on separate submarines somewhere in the Pacific.

Kristen Macheer's single dad decided that if James and Alex were going to visit family, then Kristen would be fine visiting Alex's grandmother, whom she had never even met. He arranged it with Alex's parents, and it was settled. Kristen grudgingly agreed, as long as he bought her a new canvas and a fresh set of paints.

Diana Fitz wasn't surprised when her dad had to work in The Middle East. When he said he would be gone for all of June and July, she dutifully hugged him and pretended she didn't know her mother would just drop her off at a friends' house in Myso and jet to Vegas with girlfriends from her "book club," (which was really more of a "wine club". ) She just planned on making the most of Myso Valley with Alex, Kristen and James.

What did surprise her was when Tim McGee had to come with them. Tim, 16, made up the last of their little group, and basically was known as the quiet, and seriously smart one. Yes, he usually spent summers in the Valley with the rest of them, but he also spent some time in one camp or another. Usually math or science camp. Tim's dad, annoyed at his son's lacking in football, soccer, or basketball, decided to send him to be with his grandmother, Penny, like the rest of his friends.

So, for the fourth summer in a row, the teenagers were dropped at Myso Valley, where they settled in, and went out to meet the other Navy brats in the area. During the days they went swimming, saw movies, and basically did every odd job the elderly neighbors could want.

But during the night, they liked to just hang out. Their meeting spot at an all night diner -cliché, but standard- kept the food coming, while they just enjoyed being off school.

So, life was good. But good old Hootersville was dangerous during the nights, and after a month in town, an accident altered the kids' lives forever, and by the end of July, three were dead.


	2. The Diner

**Hey guys! Just wanted to thank you for your support. This is an official introduction of the characters to you. So please enjoy. Reviews are so welcome!**

10:30 PM

June 7 (2nd Day of Myso Valley summer)

Tim sat up and flicked off his lamp light. He tossed his book onto his bed, and paced over to his window, which he slowly and carefully lifted open, trying to make sure it didn't screech when it slid up. Penny knew he went out at night, but he didn't want to bother her, since she was probably asleep. It was the least he could do, considering she trusted him so much.

The window opened to the side of the house, and an alley between two fences. Tim followed the fence trail in the dark for awhile, and came to the edge of the park. He paused and listened. It was silent, but he had the feeling that he was being watched. He was about to turn around, when something jumped on his back. Tim panicked until he heard quiet laughs.

"God, Kristen!" he said, then smiled in spite of himself.

"Lighten up, Tim, you're too jumpy," Alex laughed, walking up behind them.

They strolled for a while, (Kristen on Tim's back, then Alex's, then walking for herself) eventually reaching the end of the park, where they were to meet Diana and James.

"They're usually waiting for us," Alex remarked. "Where are they?"

"Right here."

James jumped from a branch in the tree above their heads, flashing a cute grin. He looked around.

"Where's Shortstop?" he asked, calling Diana by her nickname.

"She's not with you?" Kristen responded, worried.

"No..." James frowned. The little group was kind of protective of Diana, and not just because of her size. She was just the kind of person who seemed to be in need of constant protection, though ironically she was the strongest person of them all, emotionally.

Suddenly, their friend came running through the woods, out of breath.

"Sorry," she huffed. "I fell asleep."

After laughing at her appearance, namely the leaves and sticks caught in her hair, they casually made their way to the diner, two empty blocks from the park. They were kind of a funny group, because they were so different in looks.

Tim, naturally, was tall and thin, and basically your standard sixteen year old nice guy. Unfortunately, those traits, paired with his intelligence, made him stand out from his abrupt, forceful dad, who would have probably preferred Alex as a son. Alex was athletic, very tall and strong. But he wasn't big or thick in size, he just gave an aura of charisma.

James stood as tall as Tim, maybe an inch shorter. He was similar to Tim in stature, but he was slightly stronger, a result of playing football for years. He was all about adventure, and his impulsive behavior was fun, but could get him in trouble.

Kristen was tall and had tan skin and blonde, teased hair, the standard California girl, but she was not into surfing or being overly girly. Her personality was that of an artist- creative, inspired, and yet she was incredibly blunt and could be quite sarcastic when she wanted to be, contrasting to Tim's quiet shyness or Diana's sweet sparking personality. Di was petite and more girly than Kristen, but they got along better than siblings.

When they reached their destination, Alex opened the door, and made a mock bow. His shortest friend grinned and went in, greeting the owners with a shout.

"Lisa? Mitch!"

Lisa came rushing out from the back. "Hey sweetie! How are you all? Have you eaten? No, never mind, you'll have something to eat anyways..."

And like that, the mother hen had them all seated, where she quickly brought out their drinks, dinners, and desserts, with smiles and hugs for all of them. They were close with the owners, mainly because they came to the diner every night of the summer. Mitch and Lisa kept the place open after midnight basically for them, since few people actually visited the diner after eleven. Occasionally, a hungry insomniac would wander in for a midnight snack, but really, the restaurant turned a pretty good profit just from the nighttime corner-booth-club.

"Alright, what did everyone have for dinner tonight?" Kristen asked, amused. What the kids ate each night usually reflected what kind of awful food they had earlier in the evening.

"Penny made some kind of health food. I think it had flax seed in it," Tim said with a laugh, biting into a cheeseburger.

"My uncle's neighbor found out I was staying and make spaghetti," James gloated, looking at Diana, who scowled.

"Dude, I told you to call me if you got food," she said.

"I take it you got something awful," Alex said.

"Lisa...Jenna? No, I think it's Lisa..." Di said, trying to remember her hostess' name. "Anyways, she left to go who-knows-where, and just said she'd be back by next week and to help myself to whatever I can find."

"Well, that's not too bad, you're a good cook," James said. His friend stared up at him, her spiky, caramel colored hair reflecting the bright lights. (She always had trouble growing out her hair, so she settled with just above shoulder length, which she styled with little spikes at the end.)

"I found expired lunchmeat, beer, wine, and olives," she said slowly. Then she turned to Alex and Kristen. "Did you get that awesome pasta your grandma makes?"

"Yeah..." Alex said sheepishly, as Mitch put a plate bogged down with two double cheeseburgers and fries, which he ate as if starved. Kristen looked disgusted.

"Come on, can't you have a little decorum?"

"No," all three boys answered with their mouths full.

"Why do you even try?" Diana laughed.

Basically, they stayed that way until one in the morning. When they paid and walked back, they heard a screeching of tires from a few blocks over.

"Drag race?" James wondered.

"Probably," Alex said, suddenly angry. He was silent for half a second until he spoke again.

"This place sucks. Sometimes, its fine, like tonight, but then we get about a week into summer, and by that time we've fixed up every house, seen every movie they're playing in the theater, we've looked at all the shops, and tutored every kid in summer school. What are we going to do tomorrow? If its not something exciting I might lose it."

Everyone understood. They were tired of spending every summer like this.

"We could go swimming..?" Kristen suggested lamely.

"No offense Kris, but there's only so many days in a row you can swim in the river," Tim said, shrugging. "And we swam all of every day last summer."

"Not to mention that rope will break if someone swings on that thing one more time," James said.

They walked in silence, until Diana spoke up. "Tomorrow we can brainstorm ideas. We'll make a big list of things to do, and then we'll do a new thing each day."

"Fine, but its got to be awesome," Alex conceded after a pause.

"No drag racing," Di said nervously.

"We're not stupid," James said. "No one here can drag race."

"Especially not me," Tim offered with a grin. That previous September, his parents had given him an amazing car, and he crashed it just hours later. His mom was just glad he was alright, but his dad made him work to pay it off. That wouldn't have bothered him, but now his father didn't trust him behind the wheel of anything. Still, he could joke about it with his friends.

"No, definitely not you!" Kristen agreed with a smile.

They separated, getting home quickly before they could run into trouble of any kind.

Tim crawled back into his room and shut the window firmly. He turned on the light and finished the next chapter in his book, then fell asleep, thinking that if he was going to be stuck here all summer, at least he was lucky enough to be here with his friends.


	3. Baseball

**"Its true. Center fielder, right on the list. Right before imagineer. It's a sad day when you realize those dreams may not come true." -Dead Air, 2010**

June 17, (5:00 pm)

"We should do stuff like this more often," Diana said cheerily.

The little gang (plus the rest of the neighborhood kids) found themselves playing baseball in the park. Diana and Tim were on one of the teams, playing opposite Kristen, James and Alex. The game was tied up, and since it was decided that the losing team bought the food that night, the competition was fierce.

James swung and hit the ball, sending it far enough to get him to first base. A kid named Mark was on third, catching looks at Diana out of the corner of his eye. Di, true to her nickname, was playing as shortstop.

Tim shifted his weight, knowing that the next hitter -Alex- would be sending it far out. That's where Tim came in. Some people get bored in center field, but McGee loved it. He was good at catching, and even his dad had to admit- he could definitely throw.

When his friend did in fact send the baseball flying, it was almost too easy to catch. And Tim had it back before Mark could get home. He heard his dad's voice in his head.

_"You gotta try harder with the football, son. Or soccer. Yeah... You could be good at soccer. "_

_"Dad, I'm not that bad at baseball. I-"_

_"Not that bad is not the same as good."_

...

"You suck," Kristen shouted affectionately from first base. Tim laughed and stepped up to home plate, bat in hand. He took a deep breath, and got ready. James, quite popular for his throwing abilities, was pitcher.

Tim switched to his hyper-focus mode, the same one he would use when working later in life.

He saw the baseball coming at him, and swung. He sent it way over everyone's heads. It was so far out, that it hit the woods, getting lost and effectively ending the game. "Nice, Tim," Alex said, pretending to be annoyed. Tim punched his arm, and they grinned.

Not that bad, indeed.

They had decided earlier in the day that dinner would be held at Alex's grandmother's house, and everyone was invited. That included Penny, who was brining brownies, the only thing she ever made without health food ingredients.

Alex strolled through the door of his grandmother's home.

"We're home, Grandma!" Alex called gently. His friends all came in after. Tim came in last, shutting the door behind him.

"Hi hun!" An older woman called from the kitchen. When they entered, they found Penny already there, chatting with Alex's adorable little grandmother. Something delicious was cooking in the oven.

"Hello sweethearts," Penny greeted, hugging each of them. She gave Tim a kiss on the cheek.

Alex's grandmother, Sandra, stood slightly shorter than Penny. They were best friends, very similarly to the teenagers in the house.

The food was amazing. The kids got to eat very well, and they loved the brownies.

When it was late, Penny and Tim went home.

"I wonder how you sister's doing," Penny mused.

Tim scoffed. "I'll bet she's having so much fun. She's been wanting to go to dance camp since she was four."

Penny was quiet. "I was wondering...I know how your father said that he'd match the money if she earned half of the tuition...but that was still a lot of money to raise."

Tim knew where was going.

"How did she manage to earn all that singlehandedly?"

He couldn't lie. Not to his grandmother, not to anyone. He was as see-through as still water.

"Well..."

"Did you raise that money?"

"No, not all of it."

Penny kissed him on the forehead. "You're so kind," she said.

When she went to bed, he opened his window and crawled out, just like every night.

At the diner, they were too stuffed to eat anything. They just ordered some sodas and talked.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" Tim asked. They had come up with a list of better things to do, according to their plan, and everyday they had a little adventure. It was much better than the usual schedule.

"Let's drive out of town to the mountain, like we planned," James suggested. A few miles outside of the tiny city's limits, a large rock formation overlooked the area. They had never been up there, and decided, why not?

"Good idea," Kristen agreed. "Lisa!"

The motherly woman stuck her head around the corner.

"Will you pack us some sandwiches and sodas for us to pick up tomorrow morning?"

"Sure, sweetie," she said.

"So, technically you're paying, since I believe we won today," Tim smiled.

"I'm too stuffed to eat a thing," Diana said.

"Yeah, guess we're not paying then," Kristen challenged.

"Then you three can pay for lunch tomorrow," Shortstop said.

"Deal," James said. "Can I borrow a few bucks?"

The friends went home, exhausted. They packed up bags for a day of hiking, totally unaware of what they would start the next day.

**I know, kind of an unnecessary fluff chapter, but I wanted to have a good baseball chapter, and trust me it won't really be appropriate after I drag them through hell...and I feel terrible about it. Ever gotten attached to a character before?**


	4. The Start

**Tim: "If he finds out, we're dead,"**

**Tony: "He's not going to find out,"**

**(Phone buzzes)**

**Tony: "It's him."**

**Tim: "We're dead."**

**-Dead Reckoning, 2009**

June 18

1:30 pm

The next morning was perfect for hiking. The sun was shining, but a breeze kept the temperature from rising to an intolerable level. The kids borrowed Alex's grandmother's old van, packed up the lunch Lisa had made them, and piled into the car. Alex usually jumped into the driver's seat, but today he wanted to sit in the back. The reason had remained a mystery until about five minutes into the drive.

"Alex! Get off before you kill yourself!"

Said teenager laughed and got off the roof of the van.

"Aw, did I scare you?" he teased.

"No," Kristen rolled her eyes. "I would just hate it if you ruined my day by falling off a moving car and splattering yourself all over."

"Yeah," Diana called from the driver's seat. "Then we'd have to scrape you off the pavement and explain to your grandmother why her car has guts all over it. If I'm driving and you fall forward, I'll be the one to hit you with this car."

"Geez," Alex said. "I was just car surfing...Hey, where did you put the food?"

"Oh no," Tim said. "No, then you'll just eat it all before we even get there."

"Yeah!" James put in. "Maybe I should look after it..."

Tim and Kristen smacked him upside the head.

When they pulled up to what they liked to call "the mountain," they unloaded their backpacks. Really the mountain was just the entrance to an old mine, the one Mr. Hufker struck gold in. It had since been drained of all possible precious metals and served as a hiking venue for really bored residents of Myso Valley.

Kristen found the trail, and they hiked their way up. They couldn't see much of a view from the trail itself, but the rock formation had several openings- doors to the mines, rusted over in disuse. In some places, they could walk two or three across, but as they got up higher, the path got narrower, and bordered a very steep ledge. Places like that could only fit one across, and they had to be careful to keep their balance.

Before long, the friends got to the top, hungry and tired.

"Can we eat _now_?"

"Yes!" Diana said, tossing the food to the boys. "Stop bothering me!"

They ate their lunch and looked around.

"It's not a bad view, really," Kristen said. Myso Valley looked like a cute little town from afar, and they could see the empty land beyond, which was made up of some farms, but mostly flat, undeveloped space.

"All this time and we never came up here," Tim said.

"I'm kinda glad we did," Diana said. "Good idea, James."

They stayed up there until around four thirty, then realizing they were expected home before six, scrambled to pack up and get ready for their descent.

"Wait," Kristen said. "Hear that?"

Everyone was silent, and they found that they could hear shouting.

_"And I'm telling you, it's too dangerous to leave him there! Someone's going to find him!"_

_"You're an idiot. He's been there for days. No one comes up here."_

_"Lots of kids do, when summer comes around!"_

The kids frowned suspiciously. They crept to the edge of the top and looked down. About fifteen feet below them, stood two men, arguing. They were dangerously close to the edge.

_"And I'm not an idiot,"_ the first man said. _"Who thought of this whole plan? Who got the idea to steal the stupid thing in the first place?!"_

_"The money we got from that necklace was not nearly worth killing that guy!"_ the second man shouted, shoving the first roughly.

"They're gonna kill each other," Alex muttered.

The weight of all five teenagers on that rock was proving too much, and a small pebble moved down the slope to the men below. They looked up, immediately seeing the eavesdroppers.

Alex cursed.

"Hey!" The men shouted, scurrying up the path to the top. They grabbed Kristen, who was closest.

"Let go!" she screamed, kicking and flailing. The rest came to her aid. James was moving to tackle one of the guys when he pulled out a gun!

Everyone froze.

"What did you hear? What did you **HEAR**!?" the man shouted. Everyone was silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said. "Oh I know just what to do with you five. Line up!"

Having no choice, they complied.

"Kyle, lead them to the mine," the man with the gun said.

'Kyle' walked in front of them, the nameless man with the gun in the back. The seven marched down the path in a row, until they reached another large mine opening. This steel door was cleaner and was used recently, judging by the ruts in the ground. Sliding back the huge handle granted them access. Kyle shoved them in, and the door was slammed behind them.

"No!"

Alex grabbed the handle, and pulled with all of his strength. Tim and James joined in, but the door was locked from the outside. Eventually, they just lost it.

"We're going to die in here!"

"It'll be hours..."

"Nobody will know where to look for us!"

"Who were those guys?!"

Eventually they calmed down enough to think straight, and started to look for another way out. The roof and one wall had small gaps, big enough to provide oxygen, but too tightly wedged together to move and escape. Ancient, primitive tracks ran from the huge metal door to the far wall.

"So I guess this really is an old mine shaft," James said thoughtfully. "It looks like that whole set of tracks was covered by a slide, recently."

"J, this isn't really the time-"

"No, wait Kristen," Tim said. "He gave me an idea."

"We mine our way out?" she said angrily.

"What? No. But it's a mine, right? Most were made with an escape route, like an extra opening, I think, in case there's ever a cave in."

"You're saying there might be one here." Diana confirmed hopefully.

"Awesome. Lets find one and get out of here," Alex said.

They spread out, making sure to cover every inch, looking for a loose rock that might be moved out of the way, granting them freedom. Tim reminded them to be careful not to start a rock slide, though.

It wasn't that big of a space, and they had jiggled every stone, and thought of every way they could tunnel out without making the ceiling collapse on them. Nothing was working.

"It's no use," Tim groaned. "We're stuck."

They sat there, staring into space.

"Why didn't he kill us?" Kristen said.

"Huh?"

"The guy...who ever he was. He had a gun. Why didn't he just shoot us?"

"Maybe he couldn't bring himself to look a victim in the eye and shoot them," Tim said optimistically. The other four looked at him like he was crazy.

"Right," Kristen said.

"The gun wasn't loaded," Diana realized. "He was bluffing!"

"Maybe," Alex said. "But I wouldn't have chanced that."

Meanwhile, James was staring at the far wall. He put his hand up to it. A good amount of air was flowing out. Putting his eye up to a hole, he could see a space.

"There's a draft," he murmured. No one heard him.

"Guys!" he said loudly. "There's a draft here. Maybe it's a way out?"

Dubiously, they joined him and tried to budge a rock.

"Wait. This one's loose," Alex realized. The three boys pulled as hard as they could.

"Almost..." Tim said between clenched teeth.

"Wait guys," Kristen said. "That's not a good idea."

But they didn't hear her. Tim, James, and Alex all gave one more tug, and the rock came out. Unfortunately, it brought the rest of the rocks down on top of them.

Diana yelped in fright as she and Kristen unburied the boys. They looked up and blinked sheepishly.

"Guess that was foolish," Tim said.

"Foolish?! You could have been killed!" Kristen said with worry. "What...What did you JUST SAY about dislodging loose rocks?!" she scolded.

"You're right. But look."

The five gathered around the hole they had created. It wasn't incredibly big, just the right size for a smaller person to fit through. It wasn't light enough to see a thing, but hey, if it got them out, it was worth exploring.

"See, I was right! A space," James said.

"Yeah. Have fun going back there," Shortstop said, scrunching her nose at the smell. Truly, a horrible stench wafted forward, more terrible than last week's garbage in 100 degree weather.

"I can't fit," he said matter-of-factly.

"Neither can I," Kristen, Tim and Alex all chimed in. They looked at her. Diana caught their gaze.

"No way," she said, taking a step back. "No. No no no."

"Do ya wanna get out of here?" Kristen persuaded. "Or would you rather stay all night, stuck in a confined space with Alex's B.O.?!"

"Hey! Not cool, Macheer," he whined.

The petite girl steeled her nerves, and sighed. "Got a flashlight, boy scout?"

Tim grinned and dug one out of his backpack. "Careful, I think it's low on battery."

They helped her through the hole, then crowded around, trying to get a look.

"I don't see much," Di said. "But the smell is worse. I-"

She cut off mid sentence. The rest of the group could see the beam move downward quickly, indicating she dropped the flashlight.

"Di?" Kristen called.

No answer.

"Diana Fitz..." Tim said sternly. "This isn't funny."

But then they heard it. Their friend was retching and crying at the same time. Then she let out a deathly shriek of terror. It was really more of a choking sob. It was the worst sound they had ever heard.

"I'm going in there," James growled, muttering about forcing himself to fit, when they could tell from the echoes of footsteps that their friend was coming back. She shot through the hole, into their arms, hysterical.

"I-I-It-He..." she tried in vain.

"Shh...shh," Kristen said, rubbing her back. They pulled her into an awkward group hug until she could speak coherently through her crying.

"What was back there?"

"A..a guy," Diana cried. "A man. He's...*sniffle* dead. He's been..*sob* d-d-dead for at lllleast a wee-ek."


	5. Nightmare

**Hi all! Im updating pretty early today, and I've got a lot of time on my hands tonight Guess you know what that means?! Multiple posts! Stay tuned for the normal late late post as well as this one. **

**"I just don't like maggots."**

**(Ziva) "Why?"**

**"Much like the concept of the men's room, its personal."**

**-Friends and Lovers , 2007**

_"A man. He's...*sniffle* dead. He's been..*sob* d-d-dead for at lllleast a wee-ek."_

Whatever she had seen must have been more than awful, because it took a _lot_ to make Diana Fitz cry.

Tim realized that they would need his flashlight, because it was getting dark and would be pitch black in their prison. Sitting in the dark with... Whatever their friend saw, was definitely something they did not need.

Alex seemed to have come to the same conclusion. They made eye contact, and silently agreed. Tim rose to stare at the gap in the rocks.

"I can't fit," Alex muttered, standing next to him.

"I know," Tim said. "If we can move one more rock, I should be able to squeeze through."

"Don't go in there!" the girls exclaimed.

"I have to," Tim said. "If we don't have a light we'll have to wait until morning to find a way out."

No one answered, so he and Alex moved another stone, careful not to start another collapse. When the hole was big enough he crawled through, trying to ignore the stench coming from the corner. His eyes traced the beam of light...right up to an illuminated corpse.

Shortstop was right when she said the man had been dead for a while. He was dropped there in the corner of the cave, with no dignity. He was beginning to...decompose. And insects had found their way to him. Maggots crawled everywhere.

"Oh my god," Tim said, losing his lunch just like Di had.

"Tim, just get back here," Kristen encouraged. "Hurry."

But as James and Alex stuck their arms through to help hoist him back out, a rumbling could be heard from the base of the trail.

"A car!" James said. "Maybe it's the cops!"

"_Or those creeps coming back here to finish us_," everyone thought. The teens kept up the hope that it was in fact the police. The sign of a car might have been good, but it shook the very foundations of the mine shaft, causing the gap to fall apart. Pebbles and stones flew everywhere, cutting McGee off from his friends!

Everyone jumped back. Tim fell backwards, landing on his back.

"Tim!" James shouted from the other side of the wall. "You ok?"

"Yeah," he groaned, shaking the dust out of his hair. "Anyone hurt?"

"Kristen cut her knee..."

"I'm fine." Tim could almost see Kristen roll her eyes.

He stood and turned, realizing his problem. The entire passage between the halves of the cave was blocked. Besides the flashlight- which was fading fast- he was in pitch. It was only him...and the body. His lungs tightened from the airborne dust. He focused on his breathing, worried. His asthma hadn't made an appearance in a long time.

"Oh no. No, no no!" he squeaked. "You've got to get me out of here. I can't stay here with this guy!"

"Calm down," Kristen said soothingly. "We're gonna get you out. Stay away from the wall just in case everything shakes again."

"What about the car?" Tim said.

"It must have driven by," Diana responded. "I don't hear anybody. Maybe they found our car?"

"Maybe," Tim called weakly. He flicked off the flashlight to preserve battery.

It was silent for awhile, while the four worked on the wall. Tim tried to help, bit they made him stand back. He couldn't focus on much anyways, not with the man in the corner. Being in the dark with him was just as bad as seeing him. McGee's mind went wild. He couldn't take it, between the smell and his gruesome mental image of the nameless victim. Was it just him, or could he...hear those maggots going to work? He groaned and shook his head.

"How're ya holding up, Tim?" Alex called through the barrier.

"Ok," he said.

"Don't worry boy scout, we're making good progress," Diana said. She sighed. Then a frightening idea came to her mind. "Tim?" she called. "How's your breathing?"

The rest of the kids caught up to her train of thought. Their eyes went wide.

"I'm ok," he said. "The dust is making it hard. And the smell."

"Are you getting oxygen?" James said.

"A little," he replied. Well, he wasn't lying. He was in fact getting a little air from tiny holes in the wall, but they weren't giving him enough air to last forever. This made things urgent. With a new burst of energy, they pulled at the stones.

Meanwhile, Tim started to drift off in the dark. He couldn't see, but the maggots were still there, he knew it. He eventually fell asleep...

_It was an awful dream. He was in the cave, staring at his friends. They were suffocating. He was able to move through the wall, and stared at his own figure slumped against the wall. The worst part?_

_He couldn't tell the difference between himself, and the dead man next to him._

He woke up with a gasp, and clapped his hands over his chest, stomach, legs. He was ok. Thank god..

"Tim!" Diana was calling. "You ok?"

"Yeah...just dosed off," he said.

"Well we have one more tug and you're out," James said. "Well, out of there."

Tim laughed in relief. "Thank you."

"And Tim!" Diana said. "Kristen found a opening we might be able to use to get out of this hell hole."

"Great!" Alex said. "I'm starving."

"Seriously?!" Di said. Tim agreed, thinking he might never eat anything ever again.

"Ok," James said. "One..more...sec..."

THUD!

Tim could immediately feel the change in pressure. He stuck his head through the new space, gasping the slightly-fresher air.

"Alright, ready?" Alex said, getting ready to help him out.

"Wait!" McGee said. "The flashlight. What would be the point of this if I left without the flashlight?!"

"Just leave it, Tim," Kristen hissed.

But being his stubborn self, he refused to listen. Groping around for the flashlight, he tripped.

"Ouch," he muttered. But registering his soft landing, he knew exactly what he fell on.

"Holy-" he squeaked. He stood up, ironically tripping over the flashlight. He picked it up and climbed through the hole, falling down, writhing, trying to get anything off of him.

"Help me!" he yelled. His friends helped beat off a couple stray maggots.

"You're ok," Diana said, grabbing him and hugging him gently. "You're ok."

They helped him calm down similarly to Diana. Tim felt sick and probably would have cried. Luckily, he was too occupied with getting out for good for that.

"Where's the way out?" he asked.

"Right," Kristen began. "It's here," she pointed to a spot near the door. "Just a little bit of work and we're gone."

Again Tim tried to help, but they ordered him to sit and rest.

About fifteen minutes later Diana stopped. I can fit here. I'll just slip out and open the door."

She squeezed through and jumped up, breathing in the fresh air. The nice weather made her smile. Di found the door in the dark and tugged. She squinted at the handle when it wouldn't move.

"What!? Those bastards cemented us in!"

The whole handle and lock was covered in cement, which had dried in the few hours they had been stuck inside. She darted back to the hole in the mine and explained the problem.

"Go down to the van," Alex instructed. "There's a toolbox in the back."

The girl nodded and darted down the trail, careful not to fall off the ledge. When she reached the van, she found the box, which had a crowbar and some screwdrivers. Grabbing the crowbar, Di made her way back.

She braced herself, and swung at the handle. It took several tries but she finally cracked the dried shell. After some more swinging and prying, the cement was busted off.

With a sigh, Shortstop pulled open the door. Everyone rushed out. James picked up Diana and twirled her around. Kristen hugged Alex and Tim, and Tim picked up Di as soon as James put her down.

"Thank god!" Alex exclaimed.

"Let's go," Kristen said. "I'll drive."

They walked in silence, silly grins on their faces.

"You know we're going to have to take this to the police," Tim said.

Nobody wanted to, though. It was really late...

"We have to," Kristen said quietly.

They drove in silence until they reached the police station. They fell through the door, exhausted.

"What the...?" the officer on duty dropped his newspaper.

"Look, man," Alex began. "I mean, officer. We've got a lot to tell you..."

When they started their story, the officer thought it was a joke. But he looked at their clothes and the cuts on their faces and hands and started to believe them. His expression went from amused to horrified.

"You're the kids who were reported missing three hours ago?"

"Did Penny Langston call it in?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. You Tim?"

"Yes," he sighed.

"Boy, your grandmother was worried about you all. Oh, and who's Alex? Your grandmother is worried too. Ok...uhm...would you all mind giving statements?"

They all gave individual statements and stood to leave.

"We'll look for the two guys. Could you pick them out of a lineup?"

"Absolutely," Kristen muttered.

The officer escorted them home. They dropped off Diana and James, and then Tim. He walked through the front door, and was attacked by Penny.

"Timothy McGee where were you?! Do you want to give me a heart attack? What happened? Why do you smell so badly?"

"Sorry Penny. We just had some trouble on our hike. We're ok. I promise."

Penny stared at him and then sighed. She hugged him again. "I don't care what happened. I'm so glad you're alright. Go shower then go to bed."

"Ok," Tim said.

"Are you hungry?"

"No!" Tim said sharply. At Penny's surprised look he back pedaled. "I mean, no. I'm not hungry. Maybe tomorrow morning?"

"Alright sweetheart. Goodnight."

"G'night."

Tim went through the motions, mechanically showering and getting ready for bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. He knew none of his friends would be at the diner that night- no one could stay awake.

Unfortunately, he didn't sleep well. Over and over again he would see the same picture of he and his friends, and maggots everywhere. He would have this nightmare every once and a while for years into his life.

**guesses on who is gonna get it first? **


	6. Strike One

**Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for this. I hate myself for doing this, please believe me I'm not this dark in real life. I mean, I cried at the end of toy story 3!**

**(Tony) "Well, you showed a pathological fear**

** of heights earlier today."**

**(Tim)" I was staring down ten stories. Getting**

** a little disoriented is a little understandable."**

**-Leap of Faith, 2007**

Tim woke at noon, feeling sore. Despite the nightmares he slept hard, direly needing the rest. He stretched and padded into the kitchen, where Penny left a note.

_Timothy,_

_We're out of eggs and milk so I went to the grocery. Also have to stop at church and dry cleaners. Be back around one thirty. If you go out leave me a note. Be careful today, sweetheart. Please try to eat something._

_ Penny_

McGee sighed and opened the fridge. Some chicken sat on the shelf, but as soon as he saw it his stomach gurgled, warning him not to risk eating it. He closed it again. He went upstairs and dressed. He was just pulling on his Nikes when the phone rang. He answered it, expecting his grandmother.

"Hello?"

"Tim! I've been calling all morning? Where have you been?"

"Asleep, Kristen," he said. "It was kinda an exhausting day yesterday."

"Sorry," she apologized. "But that's what I was calling about. We got a call from the police..."

"Did they find the two guys?" Tim said hopefully.

"Well, no. They want us to show them where the body was found. They're going to meet us at the mountain and we'll show them where it is."

"Oh," Tim said. He inwardly groaned. Sensing this, Kristen continued.

"You don't have to come. It's just that the rest of us were going to go, then maybe just hang out in the park for the rest of the day. We're all pretty sore."

"Yeah, me too. You already talked to James and Di?"

"Yes. They're going to come. I guess they don't want to be alone all day."

Tim understood. He felt bad, realizing that both of his friends had spent all night by themselves. "I'll come."

"You don't have to-"

"No, it's fine. I don't want to sit around all day," Tim said. Penny's TV hadn't worked in years, and he didn't have any new books either.

"If you're sure. We'll pick you up in twenty minutes."

He wrote a note for Penny. When twenty minutes was up, he swung open the door to find the van parked on his grandmother's lawn.

"How did you miss the driveway!?" he exclaimed.

"J was driving," Alex said, wobbly from that terrifying experience.

"I'm not that bad," James complained.

"Maybe not," Diana said, looking a little green. "But you might want to practice some more before trying to pass a driver's test."

Alex wanted to sit in the back again but his friends forced him to drive, not wanting to deal with a repeat of yesterday. They made it out to the mountain and sure enough, there was the patrol car.

"Where are all the forensic vans and stuff?" Kristen said.

"I'd be surprised if a town the size of Myso would have a forensic van," Tim responded. The door to the patrol car opened, and a uniformed officer stepped out. His hat kept over his eyes, introducing himself as Officer Carroll. The kids really didn't pay attention to the man, just wanting to get away from there. Minding the ledge, they led him up the trail, and stopped at the door.

"He's in there?" The officer said, pulling out a camera and beginning the evidence process.

"Yeah," Diana said. "If you'll excuse us, we really don't want to go in." She stared at the door in trepidation.

"No, I understand," the Carroll said quickly. "But just out of curiosity, how on earth did you escape?"

They showed him the hole, and he scoffed in disbelief. "You can fit through there?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Di blushed.

"Hmm.. That guy really wanted you dead," the officer said. "I would hope that he gets caught...and that you all are...Safe!"

Tim and James turned in time to see him rip the gun out of its holster, the safety off, the weapon pointed at them!

"What the-?" Alex said. Tim stared at the man in shock. His hat had fallen back revealing his entire face. It was the man from before, hatred burning in his eyes.

"I knew I should have killed you myself. Locking you in alive was just too risky. Too bad for Kyle, he disagreed with me!"

Tim gulped, wondering what kind of fate Kyle had met.

"Well now I have a gun chocked full of bullets, and there's no one around to hear us," he snarled. "So who's first? Can't have you ratting me out to the police, you know!"

Tim realized that this man didn't know that his description was now on file at the Myso Valley precinct.

"So what if we already told the police all about you?" he said. His friends stared at him wide eyed. The man turned towards him angrily. Behind the killer's back, Tim could see Kristen mouth two words.

_Shut_ _**UP**_!

McGee very nearly shook with fear, but cleared his throat and continued.

"Yeah. We told the police already," he continued. Out of the man's line of sight, James braced himself for a tackle.

"So the best thing for you to do is-" Tim was cut off by a pistol-whip to the head. His vision danced a little, but it cleared just in time for him to see James shoulder check the criminal- right over the ledge! As he fell, he grabbed James' leg, pulling him down with him!

Tim, being the closest, leapt to grab his friend's hand. He held on for a second, but then the weight of the two holding on that he fell himself!

"TIM!"

"JAMES!"

The three remaining teens looked over the ledge, where they were relieved to see Tim on a small platform-like space, only ten feet or so from where they fell. He was out cold, unconscious and battered.

However Kristen, Alex and Diana did not see James. Three hearts stopped- that was a two story fall!

Rushing down the path, the three saw James lying on the ground, staring up, blinking like he was confused by everything.

"J," Diana said softly, running over to him. He tried to get up but gasped and dropped back down.

"Don't move," Alex said. "We're going to get you to the hospital."

He looked so weak. His arm was bent at an unnatural angle, and already massive bruises were forming on his neck and collarbone- and that was just what they could see. They had no idea if his spine or neck was broken, or if he had a concussion. Though it seemed highly likely, as his eyes were glazed over and his pupils were unevenly dilated. His lips were tinged blue and he was scary pale.

"'M good," James said weakly. "Just need to catch...my...breath." He winced between every word. His friends felt helpless. They didn't know whether or not he had any internal injuries.

"Alex, pull the car as close as you can," Kristen said. "We're going to have to drive him to the hospital ourselves."

"It's ok-" James started, then mewled in pain. He was fading out of consciousness fast.

"Hold still," Kristen ordered.

"Wait, what about Tim?" Alex said.

"We're going to have to get him down. But get the car first."

Alex ran off, and quickly had the car not ten feet away from them.

Just at that moment, Tim groaned and lifted his head. Immediately seeing over the edge was frightening, and he skittered backwards against the wall. The sudden movements made his head hurt. Looking over the edge, he could see his best friends working over James.

"Hey!"

They looked up, and relief washed over their features.

"Tim!" Di called. "You alright?"

"Just a knock to the head," he replied. "How's J?"

Even from up high he could see her purse her lips. She shook her head.

"Can you get down? We need you manning the first aid."

"Sure."

But the height was making him nervous. He really didn't want to move.

_Come on Tim, J needs you._

Before he could change his mind, Tim used the rocks to climb his way down.

Seeing James made his mind race faster than the pounding in his head.

"Ok. Alex, do we have a board we can put him on? We need to keep him in one position since we don't know how his back is. Kristen, my backpack has some peroxide and gauze in it. Use it to clean his hands."

Diana and Kristen had completely missed the nasty cuts on his hands.

"K," Kristen murmured, jogging off to the van just as Alex came back, carrying a long plank of cardboard.

"I know this won't support him, but its the best I can do," he said frantically.

They secured James onto the board, and gently got him to the van. Alex drove as fast as he could while trying to keep from knocking everyone around. Kristen cleaned J's hands, while Tim and Di worked on keeping him still.

There was no hospital in Myso Valley, and the next town with a hospital was a twenty minute drive (going over the speed limit).

Alex got there in ten.

Pulling up to the hospital, Tim and Di jumped out. Tim stayed at the van to watch James, but Shortstop sprinted into the lobby, yelling for help. When the nurse came out from behind the desk, the teen pointed out the door, and started explaining that her friend had fallen and needed attention now.

As soon as the nurse understood, she called some more nurses and doctors, who dragged a gurney outside and got the boy onto it. They wheeled him away, leaving a couple nurses to look after the remaining four.

"Anyone else need help?" a kind woman asked.

"Tim fell too," Diana said. Ignoring his objections, the nurse just pulled him to a room to get checked out.

Kristen, Alex and Di sat in the waiting room, nervously silent. Alex was bouncing his leg, Kristen was staring into space, and Diana was pacing like a caged animal. When Tim came out to join him, they rushed him like paparazzi on a celebrity.

"I'm fine!" he said. "How's James?"

"No word yet," Kristen said.

Tim nodded and they moved to sit down and wait again. After an eternity, the door opened and a doctor came out.

"Does he have any family we can call?"

"I guarantee his parents won't answer. Or his uncle, for that matter," Di said heatedly.

"You can call my grandmother," Tim said. He gave the doctor the number.

"How is he?" Alex asked.

"Well..." the man seemed hesitant to share.

"We can take it, sir. And my grandmother won't be here any time soon, so you might as well tell us."

The doctor sighed. "Alright. His lower back is...you might say, out of whack. There are a few ruptured discs and his pelvis is cracked slightly. His arm is broken, though that's easily fixed. His collarbone is severely bruised, and he has a major concussion."

Everyone was silent.

"Will he be ok?" Kristen asked finally.

"Well, his arm will be fine. We need to keep an eye on his head and collar for now, but they should both make a quick recovery. As for his back...I'm not sure he will ever walk again."

This would kill James. He loved running, swimming, football...everything he needed his legs to do.

"All in all, he was quite lucky to survive such a fall," the doctor finished.

"Lucky," Tim repeated dully.

"Can we see him?" Di asked.

"Not until his grandmother is here, I'm afraid. James will be out all night, anyways."

The doctor took his leave to contact Penny, and the four went to sit back down.

"What happened to Mr. 'Carroll'," Tim asked in disgust.

"I didn't see him," Kristen said. "Do you think he survived the fall?"

"I think," Alex said. "That he's out there. And he really doesn't want us around, because we can identify him to the cops."

"So what do we do?" Kristen snapped. "Wait for him to kill us?"

"No," Tim said. "We have to avoid _that_. It's basically a game now. There's four of us now, and one of him."


	7. Strike Two

**Ok, I realize this chapter is very similar to an actual NCIS episode. (I won't give it away, no spoilers!) I didn't notice until halfway through the chapter. I know you hate me, but you'll never hate me as much as I hate myself for doing these things to my own characters. I hope you like the story anyways. ;) **

**(Tony) "I'm sure proceedures and regs warp sped through his processor before he pulled the trigger. We're talking about a guy who has protocols and checklists for brushing and flossing."**

**-Probie, 2005**

June 27

The four remaining kids sat in their corner at the diner. It seemed odd; the booth was bigger without James there.

He had been lapsing in and out of consciousness, never fully awake when they came to visit him. Of course as soon as Penny came into the hospital, she demanded truthful answers, and the kids gently explained the horrible circumstances that had brought them there, starting with them accidentally hearing the argument and later listening in on it.

She tried calling the parents of every single teen, but no one answered, including James' family. Diana's technical guardian was still out there partying. She was most likely in Vegas, getting the idea from Di's mother. J's uncle also was missing in action, but that wasn't a surprise.

It had been days since James had landed in the hospital, and the nameless man was still out there. The grandmotherly side of Penelope Langston wanted to ship her grandson, and by extent his friends, out of Myso Valley ASAP. But the part of her that was an activist and a governmental scientist knew secrets well. She understood that whoever was after her grandson would just follow him out of town.

Everyone agreed it would be best to keep Alex's old little grandma out of the loop. They parked her van in the garage and kept it closed 24/7. Also, the four kids shouldn't go out alone, and they should stay in crowded places. Most days Tim, Kristen, Alex, and Di spent their time indoors, usually at Di's place. It seemed miserable that they had to stay in so often, but it rained for five days after the cliff episode, so they were comforted knowing they didn't miss much.

Eventually the rain stopped, and the next three days they sat around, reading, talking, bored out of their minds.

When they couldn't take it anymore, they decided to take walks in pairs. Alex and Di, Tim and Kristen, Kristen and Di. It was fine until Kristen and Tim went out.

They were walking along the edge of the park, enjoying a clear-sky sort of day.

"Kristen," Tim said after a time.

"Yeah?"

"That car's following us. Don't look back."

"I know," she said. "I won't. Think we should run, or would that look suspicious?"

The young McGee thought for a moment. "If he follows us after we turn the corner, run for the woods."

The two walked down in silence. They turned their feet in the direction the side walk pointed, but their bodies were pointed at the woods, ready to make a getaway.

The car followed after them.

"Run!" Tim hissed. Both took of like a shot, thanking God for making them fast. Sprinting through the woods was frightening, but the car couldn't trail off the street, and it left them alone.

Hopping a couple fences to avoid walking out in the sidewalks, they made it back. Explaining what had happened to Alex and Di, the four decided to only walk in threes and four from then on.

Eight nights after James was put out of action, the cabin fever got intolerable. It was either go insane, or get out. The diner seemed safe, since it had at least two adults inside at all times.

"What's the plan?" Diana asked as brightly as she could manage.

"We stick to the dark. Stay off of the sidewalks and streets. No where that you could see us from a car," Alex strategized. His parents might have thought he was irresponsible, but their son was very capable. He picked up his talent for strategy from his dad.

"Anything else?" Kristen rolled her eyes.

"Nope," he grinned.

They did just that. When the four arrived at the restaurant, Mitch and Lisa asked a million questions, but they deflected them as best they could.

"Where's J?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, he's resting. He got hurt," Diana said.

"Poor baby. He's gonna be ok?"

"He should be good as new in no time," Tim said. Alex stared at him as the owners went into the kitchen.

"What?"

"Who talks like that? 'He'll be good as new in no time?' Really?"

Tim couldn't help himself. He started laughing. The others joined in, and it seemed almost normal for the first time in over a week. James could have been at home recovering from a football injury. It had happened before! No big deal. He'd be back soon, and all would be right in the world.

They ordered lots of food, and after they finished, the four sat back to talk. It was a busy night, at least fifteen people came in after ten thirty.

Around eleven thirty, there was no one left in the diner, save the kids. However, the bell dinged and a man walked in and sat at the counter.

"Menu, please," he said.

The kids froze. Kristen stopped mid sentence.

It was _him_.

Tim pulled a menu up in front of his face. The rest did the same. Officer Carroll, or whoever he was, hadn't noticed them yet.

"We can't get out from the front or he'll see us," Alex hissed.

"The back way," Di said. Tim peeked out from behind his menu to see the phony officer watching them out of the corner of his eye. His jacket was thick on one side, holding a shape that could only be a gun.

"Oh god, he saw us."

"Well, so much for that," Kristen said. "It was nice knowing you all."

Tim closed his eyes. The gears in his head turned at insane speeds. His mouth was moving slightly based on his thoughts.

"What, Tim?"

_Every possible outcome...every possible way to get out alive..._

"I have a plan. Kristen, get up and pretend like you're heading to the back to use the bathroom. Get Mitch and Lisa to hide. We don't want them hurt. Then, switch off the lights. It gets so dark in the front that by the time Carroll understands what's going on, we can run out the back door."

"What if he recognizes her?" Alex asked.

"He won't, I'm sure of it."

"Act casual or something, because this looks pretty sketchy what we're doing right now," Di warned.

Kristen spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, and got up, keeping her face pointed away from the counter.

"Order me a chocolate milkshake. I need to use the restroom."

The girl walked as calmly as she could to the back, her heart in her throat. She passed the man, and he didn't notice.

Tim's plan would have gone off without a hitch. Maybe things would be so much different then. Except for the banging open of the kitchen door. Kristen dodged around the bend.

"You want anything else?" Mitch called from the doorway. The man turned and made eye contact straight with Tim.

Everything else moved in slow motion.

T_he man at the counter whipped out his gun..._

_Kristen pulled Mitch to safety in the kitchen..._

_The gun was aimed straight at Tim..._

The lights went out.

"MOVE!" Alex shouted. Bullets were flying everywhere. A window shattered, a couple mirrors shattered.

"Getoutgetoutgetout," Kristen yelled from the back exit. They burst out the back door, practically flying. The problem was that they made it only a couple yards before Alex fell.

Doubling back to him, Tim moved to help him up, knowing their attacker would be out the diner any minute, with the upper hand: a car.

But when Tim went to move his friend, he gasped at what he saw.

Alex was lying in his own blood.

**before you all decide you want to kill me, there is still a chance for every single character to be the one to survive right now. If you really want one of them to live in particular, leave a comment! It's up to you! if not, then I will stick to my original plan.**


	8. Road Rage (Part 1)

**Hi! I just want to apologize about taking so long to update. I received multiple reviews and requests and I have had each character vouched for at least once! I'm flattered that you like these kids, so keep reviewing. You know how it can always change... *hint* which one would you want to see as an adult?**

**(Ziva) "Nothing is inevitable,"**

**-Judgement Day pt 2, 2008**

_But when Tim went to move his friend, he gasped at what he saw._

_Alex was lying in his own blood._

Di and Kristen rushed back at his gasp. Looking down, their eyes widened and tears sprung to their eyes. A nice big patch of red was forming on their friend's white shirt. Tim ripped off his jacket and put it on the wound: a shot to Alex's side.

"I didn't realize he was shot," Kristen said, kneeling down.

"_He_ probably didn't realize it," Tim said sadly.

"We can't wait for an ambulance, it'll be too late," Diana said. "We have to drive."

"Penny's car is too far away," Tim said hurriedly, trying to help Alex.

"There's a car in Lisa's garage. If we can make it to my place, we can drive out of here and call the police," Diana said.

Tim nodded, and they moved to pickup Alex. He was unconscious and basically dead weight at the moment, but between the adrenaline-high kids his size wasn't an issue. Tim put his arm around his shoulder, and Kristen picked up the slack on the other side. The house was only a block away.

Diana sprinted ahead. She burst through the door, found the keys, and picked up the phone.

An obnoxiously tired voice answered.

"Operator, wh-"

"9-1-1," Diana rushed out.

Tim and Kristen were halfway there, when they heard a car swerve around the corner.

"Faster," Tim grunted.

"My name is Diana Fritz. My friend was shot...We're driving him to the hospital now.. There is an armed man after us. He's wanted by- yes, the same man. Hurry!"

She slammed the phone into its cradle, and pulled open the garage door. It stuck on the way up, and she had to use all of her strength to keep it moving.

"Come on, come on," she murmured. She jumped into the front seat and jammed the key into the ignition. It took three tries to get the car to start. When the engine finally caught, she ran around and threw open the back, just as Tim and Kristen reached the house.

"The police?"

"On their way," she said.

"Great. Kristen, drive. Di, come help me with him."

They gently put Alex down across the backseat, and Kristen jumped in the front. She slammed her foot on the gas, and the car took off so fast Di and Tim's brains rattled in their heads.

Tim reapplied his jacket across his wounded friend's torso.

"It's my fault-"

"It's not your fault, Tim McGee, so please don't," Di said gently.

He nodded and was silent. Kristen was an excellent driver and the car was shooting down the empty road. Tim looked out the window to see a pair of headlights gaining on them.

"_How did we get here?_" he wondered.

Alex was paling faster and faster. The jacket was saturated and no longer effective.

"Hold on, everybody," Kristen said a little too late. The vehicle, which was old and shaky as it was, practically plowed through a rut in the pavement, joggling the passengers roughly.

The headlights got brighter as they approached the back of the car.

"That man is not going to-?"

Di was cut off when the front of the car collided with the back of theirs. It threw the car out of rhythm, making it fly all over. It was steadied and accelerated again, gaining distance from their pursuer, who was trying to right his own little car.

"Ow!" Tim yelped when his head hit the window.

"You ok?" Kristen shouted over the sound of the car bumping and correcting itself.

Tim was not ok. Physically, his forehead was cut and blood was sluggishly trickling down his cheek. But it didn't really hurt, it was a minor cut and the amount of adrenaline pumping through the three kids could keep them going through much worse injuries. Emotionally, mentally...that was a different story.

Tim was exhausted, not to mention stressed. (Obviously.) He was afraid. He could see flashes of him, Di, Kristen and Alex all dying either in a fiery car crash or at the hands of the crazy man after them. As if his anxiety wasn't bad enough- in fact it was skyrocketing through the roof of the car. It was too much. His usual kind, calm demeanor was gone for the moment.

"_Sure_!" Tim yelled sarcastically. "Who taught you how to drive?!" he muttered.

Struggling to keep the vehicle on track, Kristen narrowed her eyes in the rear view mirror. "I heard you, Tim. I'm _sorry_ for trying to keep us alive!"

"I-"

"Stop it!" Diana shouted, louder than she ever had been before. "How in God's name is this helping?! We're gonna be ok. The police are will be here soon! Just keep driving, K."

Everyone went back to their tasks. Tim simmered for a moment, then felt bad for snapping. He absently promised himself to apologize to Kristen when they got to the hospital. Looking down, Tim gently patted Alex's shoulder, concerned. His friend was going to die if they didn't get him help very soon. How would it be to have to explain to James that Alex was killed? Violently?

His train of thought was interrupted by a little bit of blood getting into his eye. Di looked up and made eye contact with him. Her nose scrunched a little when she saw him squinting from his injury. She glanced around the messy car until her eyes landed on a stray bandana, which she picked up and used to wipe the blood off of his face. Her expression was bravely focused, similar to one you might see on a Red Cross worker giving aid to a disaster victim. This was a sort of disaster, wasn't it?

At least someone could keep it together...

Kristen was basically standing on the pedal, and the speedometer was reporting the dangerous rate that they were speeding. As Diana finished helping Tim, Carroll's car came up closer.

"He won't give up until he kills us...or dies trying," Diana said, recalling what Tim had said in the hospital a while earlier.

"_Where are the police?_" Tim wondered.

Even if the police were nearby, it wouldn't have helped at that moment. Carroll's car got close to their back left tire, and knocked it again.

It was inevitable that the two vehicles would go all over, turning and spinning and tires screeching. With credit to Kristen, she tried her hardest to maintain some control but to no avail. The kids' wheels went off the road and back on again, and the fighting cars slammed for the final time, ending with a nasty crash.

One car was on its side. Unfortunately, the kids were in it.

Tim and Di were dazed and hurt by the impact. In their attempt to keep Alex still, they both threw themselves over him, colliding into each other. When the vehicle flipped over, both hit their heads. However, whether or not they had concussions was almost irrelevant, since they had to get out, fast. Kristen's shoulder and head were bleeding harshly; for some reason the airbag didn't go off and she hit the steering wheel. She was unconscious.

Tim's vision blurred. He sat up to see little flashes of lights dancing around. He absently considered the fact that he hadn't seen lightning bugs all summer- funny they'd make an appearance now!

His hands were numb, and he wasn't sure why his jeans had big patches of red...Diana was shouting but it sounded like she was miles away.

It all came rushing back to him, and his eyes snapped open wide. They needed to get out. No one was going down without a fight.

**Last chance to save your character! ;)**


	9. Road Rage (Part 2)

**why do I do this to myself?! ugh...before you read just know that I love all my readers and reviewers and if you are unhappy with the way things play out in this story, never fear...I have a surprise for you at the end! 3**

**"I'm just glad you're alive,"**

**-Truth and Consequences, 2009**

Penny looked up from her book and flicked on a light. Her eyes were getting tired and she secretly wished that the TV would work for once.

Her mind kept reverting back to Tim, wishing that he was there. The remaining teenagers usually spent the night together for safety, at Diana's house. The...grandmother (ugh, that _word_) had insisted that they all stay with her, but Alex mentioned that the man- Carroll- would easily be able to track where she lived to get to Timothy. After that, her grandson refused to go out with her in public, lest they be seen together.

"It would put you in danger," he fretted, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't convince him that she could take care of herself.

He occasionally called or stopped by once a day, but it worried the scientist that Tim hadn't contacted her today. None of the kids had.

Suddenly, the quiet was shattered as a loud engine came roaring down the street. Out the window, Penny barely got a glimpse of the car, but when it was followed by another, she knew exactly who it was.

"Timothy," she mouthed in horror. She rushed to the phone.

"Get me the police," she yelled at the operator, who was getting tired of these calls.

An officer picked up.

"_Officer Hughes-_"

"Jake, this is Penny."

"_Oh Mrs. Langston I was just about to call you," _the worried officer said._ "I'm afraid we have some bad news about your grandso-_"

"Yes I know!" Penny yelled. "I just saw him drive by at 95 miles and accelerating! What's happening? Why are there no officers on this right now!?"

"_Ma'am, we're working on it, but all of our officers are handling another problem right now!_"

"What..." Penny took a deep breath to keep smoke from exiting her ears and nostrils. "Could possibly be more important than an insane man speeding after my grandson and three other teenagers?!"

"_Your grandson's friend, the little one-_"

"Diana."

"_Yes. Diana Fitz called in just three minutes ago that she and her friends were being chased by an armed man and that one was shot_."

"What?!" The woman screeched. If it was Tim... "That's not cause enough?!"

"_There is an armed robbery going on at Shay's Jewelry right this moment. Three people are currently wounded severely, with no chance for a hospital unless we take this man out. This is a hostage crisis, ma'am._"

Penny was beyond exasperated. Of course she understood that a hostage situation was important, but her grandchildren were the most important things in her life.

"Can't you send someone out there?" she tried weakly.

"_Mrs. Langston, do you know how many officers we have in this town?_"

"Twenty?"

"_Ten. On a good night. Currently we have one man out with a broken leg, one has pneumonia, and I have to stay and watch the jail. That's three men-_"

"I can add and subtract," Penny snapped. The officer groaned tiredly.

"_I know, Penny. Seven men left. But we have to take care of the jewelry store problem, since only one of those guys has just a tiny bit of experience in negotiation. Nothing ever happens in this town. We're not experienced with this many tragedies in one night; that stretches us too far_."

Penny was saddened by the thought, then realized she was wasting time. "Why am I even talking to you?!" she snapped. "I'm going to help my grandson!"

She was about to hang up, when the man replied "_Is that really a good idea? For your own safety, Mrs. Langston. Think about it._"

"Damn my safety!"

"_Let me finish! For the safety of Tim, too. How will you trying to face down a strong, armed crazy man help three teenagers?"_

He was right and she knew it. But she was stubborn like her Timothy. "I don't care-"

"_Penny! No arguments. I can't even trust you to stay at your home. In fact, I want you to come down here right now. Come to this precinct or I will come to your house and bring you here! And I'll lock you up in a cell, too. Is that clear?"_

Despite the fact that this man was only concerned for her safety, that he only wanted what was best for her and the kids she loved (yes, she cared for the other kids like family) Penny wanted to jump through the phone and strangle him.

"_Mrs. Langston, is that clear_?"

Penny frowned. "**Crystal**."

(At the same time, at the hospital)

Nurse Christina Florez was exhausted. The previous night she spent all of her time on a long stressful shift and was hoping to get sleep sometime in the day. However, the hospital called her again just as she got home, explaining that they needed her back. The result was caffeine charged consciousness, but not genuine awareness. She sat there, staring at the heart monitors, counting the time until she could rest.

"I need to stretch," Christina said to herself.

She decided to check in on all the patients in her area to get her blood pumping a little. She stuck her head into each room, meticulously fixing anything that needed attention. All the patients were fine so far.

When she got to the end of the hall, the nurse checked in on James Wilson. Christina was there when the boy was brought in. She felt sorry for him and his friends. The skinny one's grandmother came in and took care of everything and they left. But they came back to visit constantly.

As soon as Christina stuck her head in his room, she knew something was terribly wrong...

Penny gathered her purse and her book, plus a small snack for her and Jake, who most likely hadn't eaten supper.

She reached for her keys just as the phone rang again. She sighed and answered it.

"I'm coming Jake, I was just-"

"_Is this the home of Penelope Langston?_" an unfamiliar voice asked.

"Who is this?"

"_My name is Christina Florez, I'm a nurse at Valley Hospital._"

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry. My grandson got there, then? Thank goodness," Penny said in relief.

"_I'm sorry? This is about James Wilson..._" the nurse trailed off.

"James? Is he alright? Did he wake up?"

"_Well...that's what I called about. Mr. Wilson passed away ten minutes ago._"

(On the road)

Tim and Diana sat up. They had a hard time recovering their equilibrium since the car was on its side, but they weren't dead quite yet; neither had the intention of dying anytime soon. After they climbed out of the window, Tim pried open the trunk and lifted out poor Alex. There was nowhere to put him but on the ground, unfortunately. The kid was alive, but just barely.

"Tim, help me with Kristen please!" Di called. He ran over and the two pulled their bleeding friend out of the car. Her heart beat was completely normal.

"She's gonna be ok," Di murmured. Just then Kristen stirred. Her eyelids fluttered.

"Wha-?"

"Stay still," Tim and Shortstop said at the same time. Diana looked at the other car. Where Carroll was lying still inside. They could only make out his outline, since the windshield was cracked into a spider web design.

"He's not dead, just unconscious."

"And how on earth do you know?" Kristen asked.

"I. Just. Do." her petite friend said slowly, unsure of her reasoning.

Tim checked on Alex, who hadn't changed. It was then that the boy looked at his hands.

They were angry red in some places, purple in others. One wrist was probably sprained and several fingers were definitely broken. Glass was in his skin and some of his nails were torn up- or completely gone.

The odd thing was, he couldn't feel it...

"How are we getting to the hospital now?" Diana though aloud.

"We aren't driving there," Tim said.

Di looked at the car. "It doesn't have a car-phone in it anyways..."

"Why did the police never come?!" Tim said. "What could they possibly be doing?!"

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"One of us is going to have to run back to town. I know it's far, but its still closer than the hospital right now."

"But that would leave _**one**_ of us alone with Kristen, Alex, and the creepy psycho," Diana murmured.

"Well..." Tim was unsure of what to do, when the window in the opposite car shattered.

'Carroll' was awake, and punching his way out.


	10. Heart of a Lion

**(Tony) "Tim McGee: small muscles, big brain, heart of a lion."**

**-Truth or Consequences, 2009**

"How are you still alive?!" Diana yelped as the man smashed his way out of the window.

"I could ask you brats the same thing," he snarled, standing up.

"We are _Navy_ brats," she said proudly.

"Is your name really Carroll?" Tim said, trying to distract him.

The man shrugged, affirmative answer enough. He reached for his gun, but it was gone. In fact, he forgot it in the front seat!

Diana made eye contact with Tim. Tim made eye contact with Carroll.

A silent pause was burst when the criminal turned for his car. In a flash, Diana jumped on his back.

"Go, Tim!" Kristen screeched from her place on the ground. It was agony to move, so she was resigned to watch the fight.

Carroll reacted typically: flailing, moving and jumping to get the girl off of him. Di's dad, (afraid that her size would make her a target for attacks) taught his daughter pressure points along the neck and back, and also how to choke someone into unconsciousness. However, as she was trying to do these things, Carroll slammed her into the underside of their flipped car. It hurt beyond comprehension, and she let go, dropping to the ground. The large man moved to hit her.

"HEY!"

All aware persons turned to see Tim, fumbling with the gun. He aimed at Carroll.

"Don't move..."

"Or what?" the creep sneered.

"Or I will shoot. Think a navy brat doesn't know how to handle a gun?!"

Tim's voice shook. He could shoot at targets when his dad was around, but there was no way he could take a person's life. But he also knew that if Carroll attacked them again, he would kill them. He just prayed that his bluff wouldn't be called.

Carroll turned and stalked towards Tim slowly.

"I said don't move!" the boy shouted. He was vaguely reminded of The Sound of Music, when Liesl's boyfriend (he couldn't recall the name) couldn't shoot Captain von Trapp.

But the man kept walking. Diana and Kristen were both frozen in horror. Di had a pretty bad gash along her shoulder.

One more step...

Tim realized he had no choice. He was too weak to fight this guy. He pulled the trigger.

Click!

Nothing happened. McGee looked at the gun and frowned in shock. It was empty. By this time, Carroll was close enough to touch. In fact, he punched Tim, who fell to the ground. The gun clattered away.

Carroll reached into the car and opened the glove compartment, where he kept an extra clip in case of...emergency.

He dove for the weapon, but Diana was up again, and grabbed it. Unsure of what to do with it, she slid it to Kristen. Tim took this advantage and kicked his attacker in the face. He stumbled up and Diana grabbed his arm.

"Run, Tim." she said. "Go!" he stumbled forward. "Go get help, bring them back. We've got this."

He resisted, but Carroll was getting up. Tim sprinted, a new burst of adrenaline shooting through him. He ran...

Diana watched him go for a second, then went to pull Kristen out of the line of fire. Bleeding and concussed, the taller girl was fading. That made it easy for Carroll to step on her wrist.

"OW!" she screamed. Di tried to fend him off, but the man was strong. He shoved her down and grabbed the gun from Kristen's pinned hand. He smiled sickly and ripped the old clip out of the gun, replacing it in seconds. Of course, he aimed at Diana and Kristen.

But these girls were smart. Both kicked at his ankles, and he growled and stepped back. Knowing that he had to stop the boy from running away, he aimed at Tim, who was already far away- he was always a fast runner.

Kristen and Di both got up, but Kristen fell down again. She used the opportunity to grab his waist, and Di knocked his hand. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop him from firing in time, and the gun went off- in Timothy McGee's direction.

Tim stumbled again at the sound, and turned. Vaguely he could make out three figures struggling. He couldn't see who had the upper hand.

The three fighters fell in a heap, and Kristen moaned at the impact with the ground. Her collarbone was probably broken, but she couldn't care right then. She saw Tim standing there, and murmured.

"He's ok."

Diana looked up and screamed. "KEEP GOING TIM! WE'RE ALRIGHT!"

Tim heard this and kept going. He was confused and disoriented. The lightning bugs were back... But they gradually turned into strobe lights, which -oddly enough- had a voice.

"Tim!"

McGee looked up to see a police car pull up next to him. The strobe lights were red and blue...imagine that...

"Tim!" The officer said again. He looked at the poor kid, who was bloody all over, and who definitely had a concussion. The 16 year old meekly grabbed the handle of the door and pulled himself inside. He pointed forward without a word, and Jake Hughes covered the distance to the wreck as fast as he could...

When Tim kept running, Carroll grabbed Diana's neck and lifted her to the point that she was standing on her tiptoes. He dropped her; she sputtered and gasped. He placed his foot on Kristen's wound, and she screamed again. He lifted the gun and fired two shots...

Kristen was able to trip him and he fell, losing his grip on the gun. Diana grabbed it, and just as he lunged at her, she closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger...

Jake and Tim drove up to the fight, and saw the man lunging for Di. Officer Hughes jumped out of the car, grabbing his gun, but wasn't faster than Diana, whose eyes were suddenly wide open. She was shaking and pointing the gun at the criminal, who was standing there in disbelief. He looked at himself, where a bullet was laced through his heart.

He fell over, dead.

Tim had exited the police cruiser sometime during this. His vision was like a kaleidoscope. He saw Alex lying there, pale and unmoving. He saw Kristen down near the car, passed out from the bleeding. Worse than all of that, he saw Diana, still frozen, with red splattered across her chest.

As Officer Hughes gently pried the gun from the small girl's hands and put it down, he saw Tim McGee fall...


	11. Strike Three: You're Out

**I'm sorry. This is going to be sad. Thank you all for reading so far. Please, if your favorite character does not survive, don't give up on the story. Besides, I have a master plan to accommodate every character. Enjoy!**

**_"sometimes, a quote just does not apply"_**** -Anonymous**

Four teens were rushed to the hospital early in the morning on June 28. At the same time, a man by the name of Kyle Carroll held up a jewelry store. Ironically, the aforementioned teens believed him to be dead, but his actions were a distraction to prevent interference with their deaths. His brother, Ryan Carroll, pursued the kids. He wanted to ensure that they would not be identified to the police, and these four victims were the only living witnesses...

Two of the four were rushed to emergency surgery for gunshot wounds, and two were rushed to a different wing, requiring brain and body scans most importantly.

Four surgeries happened. But the worst part were the two flatlines that pierced the silence.

...

Tim could barely breathe. He felt so heavy...and he couldn't remember what was wrong or why he felt this way. There was a weight pressing on his chest, the kind one only experiences in a medically induced unconsciousness.

It might have been years for him to work his way out of the darkness. His hearing came back before the rest of him did.

"Only two out of five.."

Five? Five what? Tim couldn't understand.

When his eyes did eventually open, they closed again immediately. It took several tries before he could hear, see, and understand what was happening around him.

"Timothy, can you wake up for me, dear?"

"Penny?"

A sigh of relief. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

Tim opened his eyes and sat up. He winced at the pain that resulted. "Like I got hit by a bus. Did I?"

His grandmother frowned. "You don't remember?"

But everything rushed at Tim again. "Oh, yeah! Carroll! What happened?! Wha-?"

"Shh," Penny calmed him. The boy noticed a doctor standing in the corner, but didn't pay attention to him.

"He's dead, you don't have to worry about that crazy man."

A moment of relaxation came, but it was gone in a flash.

"What day is it?"

"July 11. You've been in and out of consciousness for some time. You had me worried."

"Oh. How are the guys? Where's Di and Alex? Can I see James? It Kristen ok?"

Penny hesitated. "We can talk later, dear. Now you need your rest."

"Ok, I'll rest, but can't I at least see them first?"

There was a pause that Tim caught on to.

"What, Penny? What aren't you telling me?"

"I think that the doctor should check you out.."

"What's going on?!"

The woman teared up and turned to him. Her mouth moved, and out came the end of the world.

Something his brilliant mind would never fully comprehend.

"They're gone, Timothy. James, Diana and Alex passed away."

...

The whole world had collapsed on Tim's shoulders. At first he didn't believe them when they told him the news. It was all some sick joke, right? Or maybe it was the medication they had him on. But when the kid realized that they were telling the truth he very quietly requested to be alone.

"Timothy-"

"Please, Penny," he had whispered. She nodded and followed the doctor out, leaving her grandson by himself.

He stared at the wall, listening to the sound of his heart monitor. The teen despised every heartbeat, he loathed the machine for telling the whole world that he was alive and... not completely well just yet, but whole. In one piece. Everyone could tell that physically he would survive. The blood was pumping; mind working quite well.

But he hated himself with every beep the gadget let out.

Beep.

He was alive. James wasn't.

Beep.

He was going to be ok. Alex wasn't.

Beep.

He would get to do whatever he wanted. Diana would never do anything ever again.

The whole thing seemed almost laughable.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beeeep!

Ripping the heart monitor off of him, Tim flopped back onto the bed. It hurt all over, but he ignored the pain. The poor nurse on duty at the station outside came rushing in, and he had to assure her that he was not flatlining- and despite his gentle protests she attached his heart rate plug again.

What was he going to do? His three best friends were gone and they left him behind. That damn Carroll, making sure that all of the people that he cared about- well, not all the people he cared about. He had his family, and there was Kristen.

Kristen! What happened to Kristen?! Where was she?! Timothy struggled to sit up, once again ignoring the pain from his injuries. Many of the machines he was hooked up to went crazy, triggering a whole wave of nurses and the doctor, who held him down and spoke to him until he was calm.

"Where's Kristen?! I want to see her!"

"Tim, please calm down. She's asleep right now, and she needs her rest. You do, too."

With that the doctor signaled to give the resisting patient a dose of "hard-core" medication, causing the young McGee to drop into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, the first thing he saw was Kristen, who was gazing out the window. K was on the visitor's window seat. Her shoulder was in a heavy brace, and the corresponding arm was being supported by sling. She turned gingerly when her friend stirred, and met his gaze with a broken and sad sort of excuse for a smile.

"Hey," he croaked, letting the sleep wear off.

"Hey yourself," she said quietly. All of her usual gusto and presence were absent.

These were the only words they would exchange all day. But they sat together, neither wanting to start a conversation. What could they possibly talk about. Tim, always the patient and quiet one, was usually happy with silence. Kristen was another story. If she was not talking or moving around then she was asleep or listening to someone else. This new idea of stillness usually would have been disturbing. Not now.

The doctor came in with his clipboard and saw the way the two kids were staring in different directions; he cleared his throat and addressed Kristen first.

"Do you have any questions for me?"

"Yes, sir. Can I have an assessment of my injuries, please? I want to know how to take care of myself. What's wrong and such."

Tim nodded in agreement. The doctor hesitated, but when they pressed for more, he complied.

"Kristen first. Ok, so a summary of your injuries... Your collarbone is cracked near the shoulder, and your lower arm was dislocated at your elbow. Plus your wrist was sprained. All of that is set now and you will get full use of your arm back with proper healing time. You had a minor concussion from hitting the steering wheel of you car but it was gone by the time you woke up here. Your cuts and bruises will all heal quickly. I also want you to know you were dehydrated and over exhausted."

She nodded without a word and the man turned to Tim.

"You have an extensive list compared to that. I could tell from the moment you were brought in that you were malnourished and hadn't been sleeping well in the past few weeks. You are still on the mend from a serious concussion. You hit your head...several times?"

"Yes, sir."

"It showed on your x-ray. You are severely bruised all over. Several muscles were pulled from exertion. Your eyes are both black, but surprisingly your nose was not broken. Your lower back was hurt and it'll be sore for a while, but it will heal. Various other injuries like cuts and such have been taken care of. Now, your hands...both had broken fingers. You left hand has completely healed but your right hasn't just yet. There was glass all in the skin and it required long periods of time just to get all of the shards out. Obviously you have noticed many of your finger nails are gone. We have wrapped your hands and done as much as we can for them, but they will be sensitive for years after this. I can't guarantee that you won't feel the lasting effects every now and then for the rest of your life. I suggest lotion and...maybe a manicure or two every few months."

"A manicure?!" Tim exclaimed, embarrassed. What would Alex and James say?

He caws crushed when he realized they wouldn't say anything.

"I know, I know," the doctor said. "But it will be for the better. And who said you have to go get them done in public? You could do it yourself."

Tim blushed. He finally nodded again and the doctor continued.

"Finally, and most importantly... You had a nasty gash in the side. You probably didn't even realize it but it was most likely caused-"

"When the car was flipped," Tim murmured.

"Yes," he agreed sadly. He coughed uncomfortably and moved to leave.

"I am very sorry for your losses," he said sincerely.

"Wait," Tim called out suddenly. "How did...what was the causes of...?"

The medical man understood. "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you, I'm sorry."

"Please sir."

"You can tell them, I grant you permission," Penny said suddenly entering. Normally she would side with the doctor, but Kristen and Tim's expressions were heartbreaking. The kind doctor sighed and looked through his notes.

"Alright. Mr. James Wilson passed away quite unexpectedly. I believe I told you about his spine? It sometimes happens during recovery from trauma. The body realizes it can't fully heal and the mind rejects it, shutting down."

Kristen blinked back tears unsuccessfully.

"Mr. Alex Charter was received a bullet wound to the torso. The bleeding could not be stopped and he eventually passed away from the injuries."

Penny was starting to get misty-eyed.

"Miss Diana... Fritz?"

"Fitz," Tim said in a monotone.

"Excuse me. Miss Diana Fitz was concussed and had several cuts of various sizes, including a severe gash in her shoulder. The official cause of death was the double gunshot wound to the chest."

"But-but wait," Kristen whimpered. "She didn't die immediately."

"Uh, unfortunately, Diana's wounds were in the lungs and some major arteries. The bleeding was internal and filled her lungs..."

By the time he left, the three were struggling to hold in tears. Kristen was escorted to a separate room, and Tim and Penny stayed together, crying on and off through the night.

Penny had called Tim's father, who was away on unexpected business. Timothy's mother was in New York with Sarah and it was agreed that Sarah would not be told about this until later. Tim insisted she finish up dance camp.

After that Alex's poor grandmother found out what happened and was so devastated. She was currently at her house, awaiting the arrival of her son and daughter in law from India.

James' parents were not reachable right now. Penny had called every station on the west coast, but no one would clear her to contact them. The 'uncle' who was supposed to be caring for his nephew was still nowhere to be found. Alex's father, good friends with James' stepdad, was using every contact and influence and favor he had in the navy and in NCIS to get to those submarines.

Kristen's father was the easiest- he picked up on the first ring and ten minutes later was speeding down the road with a sketch pad for his daughter.

Diana's parents were honestly the hardest. It took some big-time clearance to get an MTAC session with the base where Diana's father was currently working. Tim's dad made it his personal mission to find the man. Say what you will about the eldest McGee, he never backed down from something important to him. Diana's mother was somewhere in Vegas. Only her husband would be able to retrieve her.

It took a week and a half to get everyone together. It seemed like a short time considering each person was on a different corner of the planet, but these were Navy families. On time was late. Most of all: these were their children.

When they were all in the same place, Tim and Kristen were cleared from the hospitals though both were as physically fragile as glass. On the outside they were weak, on the inside they were empty.

At the first reunion, all the parents were hugging and crying. All except maybe Kristen and Tim's dads. Kristen had squeezed her dad as hard as she could and didn't let go for hours. Tim simply walked up to his dad, and the two shared a brief but awkward hug. No words, no tears. This was sadly the most affection Tim had received from his father since he was four.

The party drove home caravan style. Party was an inappropriate word for it, except maybe of the expression 'funeral' party. It was true: there were three funerals to plan.


	12. Wrong Flowers

**I am so sorry! It's been forever since I last updated. No excuses- wont happen again! I'll just get right to it...**

_"And even though we lost her at such a young age, Diana's sweet, calm presence will be forever in our hearts..."_

Tim frowned at the words. Diana would have been embarrassed by all the crying going on in that room- all for her. Actually, although the funeral had an immense turnout, it wasn't fit for the young girl because it was nothing like her. It was all wrong.

"_All of it,_" Tim thought dejectedly. Di would probably have been hurt by it.

The music was too depressing. She would have wanted her favorite pop or rock tunes, so that everyone could have jammed out and smiled at the girl's uncharacteristic taste in music.

Also, Amazing Grace made Shortstop cry when she heard it. She didn't like it, and her mom knew that.

So why did it play before the priest started speaking?

Though he'd never admit it in his life, Tim knew the girl's favorite flowers were roses. But she also adored lavender. And daisies, and tiger lilies, and sunflowers. Especially sunflowers.

In her own words, "What can I say? I'm a flower girl."

Kristen, being the awesome artist that she was, had sketched up an impressive bouquet that somehow included all of these. She presented it to Di's parents, her personal condolence gift to them. They accepted it gratefully and Kris explained that these should be scattered around the funeral parlor. Mrs. Fitz agreed and declared that they would be.

However, her knack for not paying attention at the most important times seemed to ensure that only one little basket showed up among the guest bouquets, pathetic and forgotten.

There were only a few flowers that Di didn't find appealing- and it seemed like they were all here.

Mr. Fitz had remembered his girl's roses, but they were choked by the presence of orange mums and carnations. Also there was an overabundance of peace lilies.

Tim was staring at the flowers, remembering when he got in that wreck on his birthday, and how he almost died. Afterwards he had laughed, saying that he didn't want girly flowers at his funeral when he did pass away. Alex and James agreed and snickered when Kristen just asked to be buried with her paintbrushes and some of her favorite flowers from her garden.

In his mind Tim heard Di beg that if she died first, they just wouldn't put carnations anywhere near her casket.

"They're too conformist," she had announced, and they all laughed at her wish for a 'non-conformist' funeral.

What a joke.

The moment they had walked into the parlor together, puffy eyed and formally dressed, Kristen's eyes locked on the mums and peace lilies. This was the bad part. Ironically, Di was allergic to both- and _fatally_ allergic to peace lilies.

"Her parents _know_, right? Why on earth would you put flowers that can kill a person right next to their...casket?"

The young McGee had been too sick to his stomach to answer.

So through the procession he suffered, staring at his wrecked hands. One was still wrapped up in a bandage

"..._And we should remember that death is just the beginning of eternal life._.."

Tim was, at this point, not listening to a word the poor priest was saying. He had heard a similar spiel at Alex's funeral two days ago, and another the day before, at James'.

That Monday the Alameda naval community held a joint memorial service for the kids. Actually, many residents from Myso Valley also attended. Tim saw Mark and several other baseball friends there.

The service was short and rather nice, with acceptable music and no caskets, just photos of the three.

That Tuesday was Alex's private funeral. It was decent and plain. He would have been fine with it. There were big white orchids and lilies, which the teen would have pretended to scoff at - but he would have been secretly happy that they weren't girly pink roses or something. Tim half expected his best friend to jump out of the casket and shout "**SURPRISE**!" and roll on the floor in howls of laughter at everyone's expressions. Or maybe even be hiding around the corner with water balloons, ready to pelt his ex girlfriends who showed up that day. He would run through the aisles, hitting everyone, and then making sure that Tim's nicest suit was thoroughly saturated with water. That would have been much better.

James' service was actually really good. He was close with his parents despite their frequent work-travels. They put on some of his favorite tunes but kept it respectful. James was a Beatles fan, and so Yesterday and Let It Be were featured in the casket procession. Flowers were far from his idea of masculine, but James had this trick he once shared with Tim and Alex.

"Give a girl flowers on your dates-" he had said.

"Everyone knows that," Tim rolled his eyes.

"Like not just the first date. If she's goth, char them or buy them black. Remember when I gave that girl white roses specked with red? She thought it looked like blood and she loved it. It was a little creepy. If she's bright or cheery give her daisies or sunflowers. If she's romantic give her red roses."

He had gone on like that. **Tim would use the black roses trick later.** Actually, once he showed up at a girl's door with a sunflower like his friend advised- she was president of the World Peace Club at school. That had been a good idea and that girl was his date to prom later.

Tim saw the standard carnations, but spotted a black rose that someone had slipped into the arrangement... And could just see James raise his eyebrows in an I-Told-You-So look.

So it had come down to Diana. Her father was too distraught to do much of the planning, and her mother had been rather tipsy for that whole week. (To the woman's credit, she only drank just then out of grief, and she didn't let it get out of hand.)

But the drunkenness was still enough to mess some things up. And Tim sorely wished that he could talk to Alex or James about it. Kristen...well, Kris had withdrawn and wasn't really good for deep conversations; they made her nervous.

The three teens were buried in their families' plots, coincidentally in the same cemetery, considerably close to each other.

Walking back from the burial, Tim excused himself to sit behind a tree, where he promptly vomited.

He knew he wasn't sleeping that night, or any night in the foreseeable future.

His best friends were gone, and he was angry.


	13. Changes

**A/N:**

**Hello! So several people asked if this was all going to tie in with an older Tim like we see in the show. To my curious readers- never fear- it will! I just couldn't resist a funeral chapter, since I can't simply jump from the hospital scene to the early 2000s. This chapter ****_will_**** skip around, to get to where we are going in Timothy McGee's adulthood. This is purely a transition chapter, but its important! **

**Enjoy!**

**six months later...**

The peace of the naval community neighborhood was shattered by a resounding crash. Children on the sidewalk scrambled away when the front door of a comfortable looking home- comfortable on the outside, that is- swung open and produced a nervous Timothy McGee. After him stormed a fuming Admiral Sean McGee.

"Do you realize what you're saying?!" the older man roared. "Decades of tradition ruined. A whole family legacy in shambles!"

Tim stopped and turned to face him. The boy was still shy and polite, but after the events of the past summer, he was different. Three of his best friends just...gone. It made him realize that life was short and unpredictable; he had to do what was right for him, not his father. No amount of intimidation and bullying from the old man would change that.

"Dad," he said respectfully. "Our..Our family legacy is not ruined. There are still generations of McGees behind us that joined the Naval Academy. I just- just won't be one of them."

"And therefore bringing the family legacy to a halt!"

By this time, Mrs. McGee had saved all of the fish from the shattered tank. Unfortunately, it had been shattered in Sean McGee's rage. Sarah was mopping up the water when her mother tearfully stood up and looked out the window. She watched as her husband continued to berate their only son.

"What will you even do, anyways? Go and play with your computers all day? What a waste of time. A _pathetic_ life, Tim."

The young man inhaled through his nose, and exhaled sharply. His nostrils flared, but that was his only display of temper.

"First of all, I would not simply 'play with computers all day' - I would in fact be working for a government agency, fighting cyber crime. And it is very far from a pathetic life. I would also be out in a field if I joined the FBI. Or.. or NCIS! That would be very fitting because I could help navy and their families. If NCIS had been in the area, maybe...maybe Alex, James, and Di wouldn't have died!"

There was a beat of shock from the Admiral. Tim hadn't spoken about his friends' deaths since his mandatory therapy session a month before.

Still, his father wouldn't let up. "This is purely out of spite, isn't it? That's why you won't join the Naval Academy: to get back at me."

The younger McGee's eyes widened. Was his father ignoring everything he was saying?

"No, Dad. I have the utmost respect for you. I always have, always will. But the Navy isn't my place. I don't want to spend half my life on a boat when I have more potential on land. I don't fit in the Navy, that's all."

"You're right. You'd never fit in with us. You're weak! You have never been right for the military at all- I knew it since the day you were born."

That was a good slap to Tim's face. Or maybe a sucker punch to the gut. Either way, it hurt. No matter what he wanted to do in life, he did have sailor in his veins. Really, he was on the watch list of the Naval Academy admissions director. However, he and his father didn't know that. His dad's words stuck to him and they made him question himself for a minute.

"Well..well.." God, he hated his stuttering. (It had shown up after the summer tragedy.) He plowed through it nevertheless.

"Well maybe I'll join the Air Force! I'm good at math and science, I'm sure they'd take me. Or how about the Army! Yes, they would definitely appreciate me!"

That was technically a good insult to a naval authority figure, but it was a bad idea to say that to this Admiral.

He literally slapped his son across the face, leaving a good red mark.

"Sean!" the man's wife screeched, finally running out of the house. Sarah followed silently.

Tim's eyes widened at his father. For all the negligence, all of the insults and verbal abuse, his dad never actually hit him before now.

Even Sean looked surprised at himself. He stared at his hand. But then his expression hardened again and he stormed inside of the house without another word.

**...**

Where else would Tim go- besides Kristen's? In the months following their nightmare of a summer, they had quietly recovered the best they could. The two became closer, and when there was a problem, each looked out for the other. After the 'fight' with Sean, they found themselves sitting in a tree next to Kris' home, saying very little, until he finally broke the silence.

"Am I wrong? Should I go to Annapolis?"

"You'd hate it, right?"

"Without a doubt. It's a good school, just not for me."

"Then of course you shouldn't. Do what makes you happy." she said.

Tim digested this for a second. "I think I want to go to MIT."

The idea appealed to him. He could see himself having a lot of fun with other students very much like him. And he could learn even more about computers!

His daydream was interrupted by an involuntary snort from the girl next to him.

"What?" he asked, staring at Kristen, who giggled slightly.

"Nothing. But...isn't that the nerd school?"

Tim frowned again. "You sound like my father." He started to climb down the tree.

"No, wait, Tim. I didn't mean it like that and you know it. I just meant that it doesn't seem relevant. Don't you want to be a government agent? Why don't you join a school that has a good criminology program? I'm just saying that it makes more sense to go somewhere else..."

The boy's nerves were slightly raw from his fight with his dad. No doubt his stress levels were worse than usual. He felt very old.

"I want to go to a school where I can do what I love! And you don't have to major in criminology to be a federal agent."

"Ok, true..."

"It's like you- you want to be an artist. You don't technically have to go to some fancy stuck up art school in New York to be an artist. You could go to any other college and be an independent artist in a studio apartment."

"Well... Yeah," Kristen conceded. "But it wouldn't work out as well, since I want to make stage sets and illustrate books. I want to go to a school with other artists... oh, I see your point."

McGee sighed. "I'm glad someone does."

"Well.. What about your dad? This might kill him."

"No it won't. He will just have to deal."

"That's a little selfish, though." Kristen pointed out; the fact grated on her friend's brain.

"No it's not, I'm trying to do what's best for me!" his voice rose just a tiny bit.

"I realize that," Kristen said, uncharacteristically. Usually she would be one to get all heated in an argument, but she could see that Tim needed understanding at the moment. However, she wasn't totally willing to drop the point. "But all that stuff your dad did for you just to get you into the Naval Academy, won't it all go to waste now?"

"All that stuff... you mean like taking me camping and teaching me how to fish _**just**_ so that I learn how to think like a survivor? For forcing me to quit baseball to work on sailing and football and 'rougher, tougher' sports? Everything my dad ever did was to fit me into his old life."

"That's not true at all-"

"Yes it is! Yes! You have no idea, Kristen! Just because you're all close with your dad, does _not_ mean you know how all father relationships work!"

It was a little uncalled for, and Kristen remained silent, while Tim continued.

"I want to save people's lives! Personally, I can do that better in the FBI or NCIS, since I'm virtually incapacitated by sea sickness whenever I step on a boat! I still want to make a difference! It's more important than-"

He stopped mid sentence, unsure of what to say next, but Kristen was already hurt by its implications.

"Than...what? Say it, Tim! More important than... Art? Painting sets? Is that what you were going to say?"

"No! Kris, don't take it like that, I didn't mean-"

"Save it, Tim. Go play with your stupid computers. Maybe you are just being a spoiled brat!"

And for the second time that day, Tim watched as someone stormed away from him.

**...**

Tim and Kris remained estranged after that. Tim had tried to apologize, but she didnt want to hear it. Truly, he didn't mean to when he hurt her feelings. But basically for the rest of high school, they grew further and further apart. The young McGee did indeed get into MIT, much to the chagrin of his father. The Admiral barely ever spoke to Tim after their fight, and it hurt- especially without Kris (or Alex, James or Diana) to talk to. And since he was so protective of Sarah, his mother and Penny, he left them out of it. (though Penny remained do constant comfort.)

Both Timothy and Kristen had friends outside of the original group of five, and they stuck closer to those groups.

Despite that, he graduated high school top of his class, with several academic awards- and even some baseball trophies.

And when he stepped out of his car to view the MIT campus for the first time as a freshman...well, he knew that he made the right choice in schools.

**...**

Graduating from FLETC was terrifying- where was he to go from there? His plan was always to join NCIS, but now that he was actually free from academic requirements he was aware he could actually do anything. And his dad seemed to realize it, too, because the day he graduated he got a call from Sean.

"Dad! It's been a while, how are you-"

"Fine, I'm fine. Listen, have you considered a career path yet?"

"Dad, I told you, I want to-"

"Because its not to late to join the Navy, son. I could get you a speedy enlistment. You wouldn't even have to go to a recruiting station. We could make up for lost time- it'll be easy with some strings pulled, I think I could manage it."

"No, thanks Dad, but I don't want to be an officer in the Navy. It's just not for me- But don't worry, I'm still going to be involved in the military. I want to join NCIS."

"Don't worry..." his father repeated dully, soaking in the words.

"Yeah. I mean, it's no big deal-" Tim was cut off by the annoying sound of the dial tone.

At times late that, he missed Kristen. When he let it sink in, Tim couldn't help but miss Alex, Di, and James too.

**...**

Kyle snuck out of the motel in Oregon without paying. His brother, his only brother was dead, trying to get to those kids... Those damn kids. But at least three were dead too, the little brats.

His least favorite two were still alive, though. They had to pay. He wanted his revenge really badly; and he would get it. Some day...

It had to be special, intricate. Painful. He would hear those kids scream, if it took a million years to plan the right punishment. For now, he would assimilate into the real world- work honestly for a while so that he could settle down and create ghastly scenarios in his mind...


	14. New to the Team

**A/N: I will be posting three chapters tomorrow! Also, to my reviewer who asked how many chapters my story would be... No idea! Under thirty, but most likely over twenty. :)**

**September 28, 2004**

The key jiggled in the lock and Tim opened the door to his apartment. The clock sitting near his typewriter read 6:39 as he dropped his backpack next to the desk and looked around. He had been living in this apartment for a few months now, but there were still a few moving boxes unopened. Being the neat freak he was, it annoyed Tim a little that he never got to take care of them. He resolved to open them and organize the contents after he ate dinner.

He ordered Chinese takeout and took a quick shower. They newest addition to Agent Gibbs' team was already changed into his signature MIT shirt and sweatpants by the time the food arrived.

_The newest agent on the team._

He smiled when the words suddenly sank in. He was officially part of the MCRT, which he had aspired to join since day one as a federal agent. Tim truly disliked working at that little desk in Norfolk; it was boring and he felt like he wasn't doing enough for the agency there.

Although, he was disappointed by one thing...

When he had asked if the teasing and pranks were finished, Tony and Kate Gibbs-slapped him. That double head slap from his new coworkers was answer enough. The hazing, the jokes, it was not going to stop, was it? Another agent had notified him of one thing- the amount of "probieing" that came from that team was incredible. McGee knew it was probably just to 'toughen him up' and such, and he did realize he looked the part of a naive Probie. Having graduated college a little earlier than most students, he was relatively young for an agent. Plus, he had recently gained some weight - mostly because he was too busy with FLETC and applying at NCIS to pay much attention to his health. With the newly acquired baby-fat Tim seemed almost younger than he did at sixteen. (Though when he was sixteen, he also had horrible bags under his eyes, and their absence now was part of it.)

If he got his way, his team would never know exactly how naive he **_wasn't_**.

That's not to say he would lie or pretend to be something he was not, he simply wanted to put the past behind him and leave it there.

It was a grim idea, and luckily McGee was snapped out of it when the doorbell rang. He grabbed his money and opened the door, greeting the delivery man and paying for the meal. He turned on the TV and sat in front of it with the food, but didn't really watch whatever was on. Tim was thinking about, well, everything. His new team, his new job. Heck, he even began organizing that new desk in his head. Another involuntary smile crept onto his features.

Gibbs had given them time off this weekend, which according to Tony was a rare occurrence. Already wary of the senior agent's pranks, Tim wasn't sure if he was being set up for a joke, but Agent Todd had confirmed it, and he believed her. Even though she sometimes joined in on Tony's pranks, she was too nice and wouldn't do something like that to him. Usually at a dirty reference or a prank from DiNozzo, she rolled her eyes and used a term synonymous with "pig". Tim liked Kate, as she was generally polite but firm and tough. (And to be honest, Tim thought she was kind of cute.)

He could handle Tony and Kate's hazing. But Gibbs...Gibbs was a different story.

The man was downright terrifying. His use of glares and intimidation sent probies and criminals alike scurrying in fear. It made Tim nervous just being in the same room as the boss, and he wondered if he would ever get over it. When Gibbs had gotten up in Tim's face and stated '_You belong to me now_,' McGee was left to wonder... to what extent? How much did this job truly demand? His stuttering and constant apologizing would never get better at this rate.

It was obvious that Gibbs was very similar to another man Timothy knew...

His father would not be pleased to hear that his son was now an official member of the MCRT, but he needed to know, right? Tim had already told Sarah and Penny about the promotion, and wondered if either had mentioned it to his dad.

Despite his constant disagreement with his father, Tim sighed and reached for his phone, dialing the familiar number.

It rang once before the demanding voice echoed in his ear.

"Yes?"

"Hey dad, its me."

"Timothy. What is it?" his father responded sharply.

"I just wanted to tell you I got a promotion. I'm part of the major case response team at NCIS now."

"In Washington?"

"Yes...sir."

There was a beat when Tim thought his dad hung up on him, but he finally spoke.

"I'm sure it's impressive...in that line of work."

"In this line of-?" Tim said with wide eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure it is. But when you get tired of playing with computers, call me and I'll arrange an interview with a real member of the Navy. For god's sake, you could even go to a recruiting station if you wanted. Just call me when you do, alright?"

The admiral sounded so pushy and demanding, and for over twenty years Timothy had dealt with it. But he was proud of this job, he already loved it, and this was just too far.

"Dad," he said hoarsely. "I am not joining the Navy. I'm sorry, I really am, but I can't...I would be miserable. And its not because of the Navy, its because of me. Please try to understand."

His father halted at the sincerity of the words. It was just like that day way back with their first argument; this time, however, there was an invisible cord severed. Tim could feel it as soon as he finished speaking.

"Don't call here until you aren't going to disappoint me again," the older man said, then slammed the phone into its receiver.

Tim sighed and gently put his phone down. Trying to put it out of his mind, he went back to eating and watching TV. He was finishing up his food when the telephone rang one more time, startling him. He lifted it and quietly spoke.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Timmy!" Abby said. As much as he liked the scientist, the young McGee wasn't exactly sure how to classify her. Girlfriend didn't seem like the right term, but that was the closest he could come to describing the goth. At times like these, his true naïveté **was** stamped on his forehead.

"Hey Abs."

"...what's wrong? You ok? You should be happy! I just heard about the news! Welcome to the Navy Yard! I mean, of course you've been here a million times, but I thought that since this was your first day as an official part of the team that I should welcome you officially, and the security guard in the front of the building always greets everyone so I thought I'd beat him to the punch. But he's really nice, so its not like it is a bad thing or anything like that..."

He let her talk for a while, knowing she snap herself back on track, which she finally did.

"So do you want to go celebrate?"

"Uhm.. I don't think so, Abs. I want to, but I'm not feeling so great. I can't go out right now. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Oh! You poor thing! Do you need me to come over?"

"No, that's ok. Enjoy your weekend. I just need some rest and I'll be good."

"Alright, then. G'night Timmy!"

"Night."

As he put the phone down for the second time that evening, he couldn't help but realize that he was in his twenties and spending his weekend doing absolutely nothing, and it bothered him just a tiny bit.

**Oh, the wonders of transition chapters. Dont worry, I think you'll recognize the situation in the next chapter, though...**


	15. Twilight and Pizza

**May 24, 2005**

When a bullet flew over his head, Tim dove behind the car and returned a few impressive shots of his own. He wasn't sure that he actually hit the terrorist, but it was enough to provide a small amount of safety for the time being.

He rapidly typed on the laptop keyboard, praying to every deity he knew of that he would be fast enough to stop the missiles. Another few shots stopped him again, and he radioed to Gibbs. He returned fire, and turned in dismay when the laptop exploded from another expert shot.

In retrospect, he should have noticed that none of the terrorists could make that hit from their position on the _opposite_ side of the car. It might have changed his life, (and although he was once told by a smart fifteen-and-a-half year old boy that you should never look back, Tim constantly looked back.)

After that, it was all quiet, the terrorists had ceased fire for good, and The Boss told him to stay down until they came. Despite the laptop's unfortunate demise, the missiles heading for the naval ships were stopped. It seemed like a happy ending, but there was an unsettling still and Tim could tell something was wrong.

A gunshot blew up the stillness.

It was a single **_pop_**, but its sound scared McGee's heart into his throat. He remained down but he knew someone was hurt. After a moment, a strained sound came over the radio signal.

"McGee, call Ducky...Tell him to bring a body bag."

Gibbs? Was that his boss' voice? Never had the probie ever heard something so weak come from the Marine.

Oh god, a body bag? Not again, not another person I know. No...Not Tony...Not Kate...

"Kate's down."

* * *

It was an odd week. After the lab windows were unfortunately shattered by the man responsible for Kate's death, he was stuck between watching over Abby and finding Ari.

_**Ari**_

The man was the bane of Gibbs' existence, and now the rest of the team felt a renewed hate for the him too. Tony was irritable and cruel, or at least in a different sense. Instead of pranks, he snapped at Tim and made him feel bad for not knowing certain things. Of course McGee didn't blame Tony, he just wished the SFA remembered that he was not the only one who lost a teammate.

And Kate of all people. Kate!

Tim was starting to think that only the best people died too young. In his experience, it did seem to be the case.

He didn't want to see her. It would make his job harder. Right now, his focus was bringing a killer to justice. However, there were some distractions.

The director decided to accept a promotion, leaving a new person- a woman who seemed to know Gibbs extraordinarily well. But he could figure that out later. There was also the matter of this Ziva David, a Mossad agent sent to stop them from killing the murderer.

Like Gibbs would let that happen.

But worst of all, Tim was distracted by the guilt, especially when he would see Kate in his mind. He was embarrassed to have fantasized about her, but even when she just bothered him about coming to see her body he had to fight down the emotions he was harboring.

_Take care of Ari first, right? Right._

When they did actually get Ari, (or at least Gibbs told them he was dead and they assumed he was the one to kill the rogue) there was a release. Now they could officially grieve for Kate. Her funeral was in her hometown, but before that, Tim had to go see her in private.

He snuck into autopsy when he thought no one was looking. Opening the cooler door and pulling out the wrack with his teammate was one of the hardest things he had to do. It didn't really help, but McGee kept reminding himself that he had been through much worse.

Tony came out of nowhere and they grieved together, and then left to prepare for her funeral.

After the service, Gibbs gave them time off. Actually, he ordered them off of work. It was fine with Tim; he saw it as half a week to do something he had been meaning to do for a long time. Kate's death reminded him how fragile the whole world could be.

That first night, in his apartment, he picked up his phone and dialed slowly, praying that the person would pick up.

It rang twice and then a kind voice answered.

"Admiral Macheer,"

"Hello sir, this is Timothy McGee. I don't know if you remember-"

"Tim!" the man said joyfully into his ear. "It's been such a long time! How have you been? Where are you living? You work for NCIS now, am I right?"

McGee smiled. "Yes sir-"

"Please, call me Dave. You're not a kid anymore, son."

"Alright, well I'm so glad I got a hold of you. I assume Kristen isn't there?"

"No. She lives in Manhattan now! Big time Broadway stuff. I'm still not positive exactly what she does for a living," the man chuckled. "But I know she's good at it."

Tim smiled. "Would you happen to have her number or her address? I'd like to give her a visit."

Tim's parents and Kristen's father didn't know about their falling out, so they had assumed the two had just lost touch.

"Sure, son! I'll give you both."

"Thanks, Dave. Oh, and by the way, don't tell Kristen. I want it to be a surprise."

* * *

Buying airplane tickets was a snap. Finding Kristen's apartment was an entirely different matter. Just as Tim collected his small backclaimants existed the building, a downpour of rain hit the area.

"Great," he muttered. Simply running from the pickup overhang to a taxi got him considerably wet.

McGee gave the address to the driver and settled into the seat, watching the droplets run down the window pane. He wondered what exactly he would say to Kristen; he was showing up at her door unannounced after all this time, what was appropriate for such an occasion?

When he got out and the cab drove away, he looked up at the building in front of him. It didn't exactly look like the place the admiral had described. In fact... Tim looked at the slip of paper with K's address on it and then at the building again. A sinking feeling found its way to his chest when he realized he was taken to the wrong place!

All this time it had been pouring, and he was quickly soaked. He went in to a convenience store and asked the man behind the counter about the address.

"Sorry, dude, that's two blocks over."

"What?!"

The guy gave him specific directions, and he made it through the storm to the correct building, shivering and dripping all over the place. As he was walking through the doors to the lobby, a pizza delivery man pulled up and hopped out, carrying a Hawaiian style pizza.

Maybe Gibbs' gut was rubbing off on Tim, because he immediately knew who that was for.

"Hey," he called the delivery guy over. "Is that for apartment B6?"

"Yeah."

Tim pulled out his wallet. "I'm heading there now. How much?"

Surely there is some protocol that requires at least some identification or proof that you are the purchaser of the pizza for safety reasons. What if Tim had some bad motives towards Kristen? But obviously none of that occurred to the kid, or he just didn't care, because he handed it over and accepted the money.

Tim took the warm food in his hands, and found the elevator nervously. He hadn't seen Kristen in years. He wondered if she would even recognize him.

* * *

Kristen Macheer looked out the window of her apartment, bored. Her lack of inspiration at the moment was giving her a headache, and her hands were flitting nervously about. It was late and too stormy to go out, and she had absolutely nothing to do. She had no new books to read, the TV was broken, and the fridge was empty. When the artist got hungry she ordered a pizza, which had yet to arrive. Her laundry was done and the house was entirely clean- a rarity. Her roommates were out, and her friends either were working or didn't answer their phones.

Even her boyfriend couldn't talk- he was on tour and probably singing the first lines of the musical he currently starred in.

So she stared outside, angry at herself. She lived in New York City! She was here in the most exciting city in the world- she had no right to be bored.

"Sure I do," she muttered aloud.

She was interrupted by a frantic knocking at the door.

She hopped up and went to answer it, assuming it was the pizza man, but she was instead met with a very sad sight. A young man stood there, pizza in one hand and a pathetic sort of expression on his face. He was soaking wet and shivering. His red rimmed eyes stood out on his pale complexion. He had gained a little weight since the last time she had seen him, but she'd recognize Tim McGee anywhere.

He didn't say anything at first and neither did she. They sort of stared at each other, until she finally asked.

"Is that my pizza? For god's sake come in before it gets cold."

And then she hugged him. No apologies needed.


	16. Occupational Hazards

Tim reached for the last piece of pizza, but Kristen smacked his hand and grabbed it before he could, meeting his half-glare with a smirk.

"You've had enough. I'm the starving artist here, I think I deserve it more than you do," she smiled.

Tim's grin was weakly masked behind an eye roll. He finally gave up and chuckled at her.

"Starving. Right. This isn't exactly a tumbledown apartment. You must be doing well."

"You sound so grown up," she complained. "But yes, I'm doing ok. It's nothing too big. But I really like what I'm doing, you know? Wait...are you a CNIS agent now?"

"It's NCIS, and yeah...I'm part of a major case team in the Navy Yard-"

"Oh my god!" Kristen sputtered with a mouth full of food. "Congratulations! See? You turned out ok after all."

Tim was silent, and his eyes cast downwards. She had struck a chord, and she realized it.

"How're things with your dad?" came her quiet question.

"Uh...we...we don't talk anymore. But from what I hear he's doing great..."

His friend stared at him for a minute. "You're lying."

Hi eyes widened and snapped up to look at her. "You picked that up from Alex!"

Putting that aside for later, she pursued the topic. "You're dad. Talk."

He sighed. "Ah, my parents separated when I started college."

"Oh...I'm so sorry, Tim."

"No, don't worry about it, they were unhappy together. He's an ass, anyway. My mom deserves better. Sarah's doing great, though. She's in college, studying to be a writer."

"Cool!" Kristen said half heartedly. There was another pause of silence. This whole thing was still awkward, mainly because of one question that continued to go unanswered.

"So," she said, trying to fix the tension. "Don't take this the wrong way, but why did you come here tonight?"

Tim was silent for so long this time that Kristen thought he was ignoring her.

"Take your time," she said sarcastically.

"Calm down," he said. "I'm thinking."

"You don't know-?"

"Yes, I know why I'm here! For god's sake. We lost a teammate. She was killed a couple days ago. I don't know how to respond to it, anymore. I haven't really felt like this since..."

"...since you were sixteen," she murmured. He nodded, avoiding her gaze.

"Yeah. I just didn't want something to happen to one of us, like.. I just didn't want one of us to die, and the other only hear about it from word of mouth, and regret never talking again!" He was speaking a mile a minute, obviously a trait he picked up from Abby. "I didn't want to lose you and not say I'm sorry. You're a talented artist and art is important. I wanted your help about a relationship problem. I just want to be friends again!"

Kris' eyes were wide as he told her all of this. "Start from the beginning," she urged. "Tell me everything you need to about your teammate."

So he told her. He included almost every detail, leaving out only things like 'I almost got killed like my teammate'. When he was finished, she smiled.

"So...this Abby..."

"No, don't start..."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Tim blushed. (Same old Tim.)

"Not anymore." He countered with "You picked things up from Alex, and you retained it after all this time?"

"Well of course!" she exclaimed. "He was important to me. They all were."

He nodded. "You know, I haven't said their names out loud in years," he confessed.

Kristen grimaced.

"Me either."

* * *

**February 13, 2007 (Friends and Lovers)**

Tim stared at the body, trying hard not to loose his breakfast. The little maggots crawling around were not a welcome sight; the wiggling, writhing grossness made him legitimately nauseous. It brought him back to a suffocating darkness and a horrifying smell. He was going to have nightmares that night, he was sure of it.

Gibbs had left him to pick up the disgusting things. They were important to the investigation, sure, but why him? Why did Tim have to do it? Ziva would obviously be fine with it! Or Palmer, how come Palmer couldn't pick them up and bag them?

_Why me?_

"Ziva," he said. "I'll give you a hundred dollars to pick them up for me."

She just laughed and left him to do his job. He didn't blame her, of course- who would want to pick up a bunch of dirty disgusting insects that...

"No! No. Stop it," he chided himself. He set about his task, trying to avoid the memories flooding back to him. He didn't feel a dead body underneath his fingertips, he wasn't going to die of suffocation in the darkness of a cave.

Still, it was painful. The scientist in him persuaded that it was just a natural process. The circle of life! Besides, he needed them for Abby to evaluate.

Tim finished so quickly he surprised himself. He looked around, checking to see that they were all picked up. They were all bagged, so he scurried out of there as fast as he could. He just wanted to get the case over with.

Later, he would forget all about the maggots. The team needed him to be Thom E. Gemcity; they needed a celebrity to get them into a club and he was the closest thing they had to a star. With Ziva, Abby, and Lee around him, he politely thanked the bouncer- a fan- and reveled in the fact that he could feel Tony's jealousy from yards away!

But that night, he was miserable. He tossed and he turned so badly, only sleeping once, and it was a mistake, because he dreamed that he was back in the mine shaft.

_He was covered in maggots. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. McGee was frozen and in agony. Across from him, that poor guy was still there, he looked the same. The flashlight was only a foot away from him, fading and leaving the young man in the dark._

_"Tim!" He heard Diana scream. Alex, James and Kris followed suit. _

It rang in his ears and he shot up out of bed, nearly falling over the side. He groaned when he saw the clock- it was only one in the morning!

Tumbling out of his bed, Tim tried to ignore the throbbing in his skull. However, the worst of the nightmare was surely over- his stomach growled and he searched his fridge for the fixings of a sandwich. His headache persisted, so he took some aspirin and sat on his couch with his snack.

There was nothing on TV, so he popped in a movie. (Very Tony-esque, but that would be Tim's secret.)

The phone rang and he cursed under his breath, hoping to god it wasn't some team emergency.

"Hello?"

"Hey..."

He was surprised to hear her voice, he had only spoke to her two days ago.

"Kristen! What's wrong?!"

There was a pause over the line, and a small moan. "I'm sorry I woke you up. I should have waited, but-"

"I was already awake. What's going on?"

"Alex's grandmother died."

* * *

The next morning, the elevator dinged and Tony strolled into the bullpen, chipper and whistling some Rat Pack song.

"Hello Zee-va," he greeted, dropping his backpack. Tim's desk was empty. "Where's McGemcity?"

"I do not know," the Israeli woman said without looking up. "He has not come in, which is odd, because he is almost always here before I am."

"Maybe he's sick," Tony said, plopping into his chair and booting up his computer.

"Maybe," Ziva said, reserved. She paused, then said, "I think it is because of yesterday's case."

"What was wrong with yesterday for McGee? He got to get into a very exclusive club with three beautiful women. I think his day was fine." Tony chuckled.

"Before that. When we had to clean up the scene...he did not want to go anywhere near those maggots."

"Who does? Being around decomposed bodies is our job. Maggots are an occupational hazard. He was probably being a big baby about the whole thing." the SFA said with a shrug.

"No! I mean that he was terrified of going anywhere near them. He offered to pay me if I did the job instead of him. I thought it was a joke at the time, but now I am unsure."

Tony glanced at Tim's computer deviously. "Let's find out where he is, shall we?"

He switched to Tim's desk and was about to turn on the monitor when Gibbs strolled in, followed by Abby.

"He's not here, DiNozzo."

"Morning, Boss. Any idea where he is?" Tony asked, shooting himself away from the desk.

"At a funeral," Abby put in. "I don't know whose it is."

"Oh," Tony said for a second, guilty. Then he switched back to his own desk.

"See Ziva? Nothing wrong with McGee."

The Mossad agent frowned and returned to her desk, unconvinced.

* * *

Tim put his arm around Penny, and Kristen held the woman's hand. Tim wasn't surprised that his grandmother was so stoic.

"She was very old, Timothy," she had said wearily. "And Alzheimer's is a hell of a disease to fight. She's with her husband now."

McGee felt like a fool. He never once visited his friend's grandmother in all those years. He had forgotten all about her in his desperate attempt to be free from the naval history his father imposed on him. Guilt welled in the young agent's chest, but he realized that regret would do him no good and dropped the matter at Penny's request.

The service took place in Alameda, and was modest but nice. Alex's parents, looking a little worse for wear, greeted K and Tim warmly, as did Admiral Macheer. James' parents were there, but Diana's were not.

"Where are they?" Tim whispered before the ceremony started.

Kristen looked at him for a minute. "That's not funny."

"What? I'm serious. Where are Di's parents?"

Kristen paused.

"They're dead, Tim. She drank herself to death."

"What?!"

"Yeah, that 'controlled' drinking she was so fond of? She lost control. He committed suicide a year after that."

He sighed, shaking his head.

She stared at him. "You really didn't know. You lost track of everything, didn't you?"

Tim looked at the faces in the crowd. Some were familiar, but they provided little comfort.

"No," he said. "All of this..I got away from it on purpose."


	17. Plans

A/N: ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to inform you that this is the beginning of the end! I'm excited, please tell me what you think! Also, I know the date for this chapter is in the future, it just brings us closer to the anniversary of the events that Tim and Kristen had to go through, but you could consider it the immediate present day if you wanted.

**June 14, 2013**

Kyle pulled his hat onto his head, quivering with anticipation. After all these years: revenge would finally be his!

He had spent years planning a way to get this job done without getting caught.

It might have been carried out sooner, but he had been arrested several times for drug possession, and a series of petty crimes. Luckily, no one had recognized him from his major "achievements" of the late 20th century.

When the McGee kid became a federal agent, Kyle thought it would be difficult to carry out any form of kidnapping or torture without risking harm to himself.

But after some minor observation of the NCIS employee, he found that the kid was the gentlest of his team- that he was just the same as he was at 16.

Whether Tim was a skinny young man or a professional wrestler, Kyle wouldn't have cared. He was determined to make Kristen Macheer and Timothy McGee suffer.

He picked up the old pizza box and straightened his delivery uniform. Macheer would be home at this time, he knew. Everything was falling right into place.

* * *

Tony arrived in the bullpen, fashionably late. Actually, he was only ten minutes behind the appropriate time, but since Gibbs came in around five in the morning and McGee was always an hour early, he was late by comparison. Ziva could come in anytime between Tim and Tony, depending on how her morning run went.

The thing that piqued DiNozzo's curiosity was Tim. He was speaking into his phone and facing away from Tony, leaning back in his chair. McGee's voice was set at a tone Tony had never heard before from the junior agent- it was teasing and relaxed.

"Yeah, you're right, you're right!"

The SFA sat at his desk. Tim hadn't noticed him yet.

"Sure, I'll visit. That's actually a great idea. I haven't been back in...years. Since...then...are you serious?"

Tim sat up in his chair and turned just slightly, enough to notice DiNozzo. His eyes widened and he blushed in embarrassment.

"Yes...uh...I've gotta go, We'll talk tonight."

He hung up and tried pretending like it didn't happen, moving to type on his keyboard. "Morning Tony-"

"And good morning to you, McRomeo! What special lady were we talking to? And better yet...visiting?"

Tim rolled his eyes, secretly embarrassed. Kristen would be hysterical with laughter if she could hear this. "It's not a 'special lady' Tony."

"Special man?"

"No! No, DiNozzo, she's just an old friend."

The older man studied his face, looking for signs of a lie; Tim was a horrible lier. "Ok..." He said, slightly dubious.

Ziva joined them just then, eyebrow raised. "What is ok?"

Tony jumped in before his friend could respond. "Tim's placing mysterious calls to women behind our backs, Z."

Ziva's eyebrows raised again, this time in delight. "I am happy for you, McGee."

"It's not like that!" Tim insisted.

"What's not like that?"

Tony and Ziva quickly returned to their own desks. "Gear up!" Gibbs said.

And the day went on from there, no problem. It was truly an open and shut case, a depressing suicide incident. The reports were turned in by six o'clock. Usually when a case was solved so early in the evening the team would go out and celebrate with drinks, but given the nature of the investigation, it didn't seem right. There was no caught criminal, just a victim. So instead Tony proposed a low-key movie night. He would, of course, supply the movie. Ziva would bring popcorn, and Abby volunteered to supply take-out of some sort. Ducky and Jimmy were both busy that night, and politely declined the invitation.

"How about you, McGee? You coming? I've got good beer," DiNozzo cajoled.

Tim glanced up to see Ziva, Abby and Tony all looking at him as they headed towards the elevator.

"Uh, yeah, I'll be there a little later. I have to do something first," he replied unenthusiastically.

Tony gave him a 'I knew it!' look before pressing the down button.

"See you there, Timmy!" Abby called.

Tim grinned as the doors closed. He then dialed the now-familiar number. After the second ring, the sarcastic voice greeted with "thank god you called, I've been sitting by the phone all day awaiting your message!"

He smirked. "So when should I schedule my flight for?"

"Uh..." Tim heard a ruffling of papers as Kristen checked through her planner. "Well, I'm gonna want to show up the day before the...anniversary...so that I can visit all the places. But I don't want to stay too long, I'm assuming you don't want to either?"

"Of course not," Tim responded hoarsely, knowing that one or two days would be taxing enough on him. Nevertheless, he was ready to make the trip. He saw it as closure, which might help with his nightmares and anxiety.

"Right, so the day before? Do you wanna book the flights for us both so we can be on the same flight?"

"Sure," Tim agreed. "I'll text you about times and prices when I make the flight reservations."

"Prices? Aw, you mean I have to pay for myself?" Kris mock-pouted.

"Sorry," he chuckled.

"Fine. But you're paying for the diner food!"

"Deal."

Tim hung up and smiled, heading towards the elevator, suddenly glad he was heading for beer, takeout, and a movie with the team.

* * *

Kristen smiled as she put the phone in its receiver. Her boyfriend walked through the front door of the apartment, and she got up to hug him.

"How was your day?" he asked as he returned the embrace.

"Great!" she replied. "Oh...uh, when you go on tour again next week, I'm going on a trip."

"Good for you, babe. You need to get out more."

"Hey!"

"Where are you going? Visiting your dad?"

"I might stop and say hello. But no, I'm going to visit a place I used to spend my summers at."

"That's cool. Take lots of pictures."

"Uh...I will!"

Her boyfriend, Nick, shuffled uneasily for a minute. "Are we still on for tomorrow night?"

"No, sorry." His head whipped around to look at her in surprise. "I've got a date," she smiled.

He laughed, relieved that she was just joking. "Well I'm sure he's a lucky guy."

"We don't go on dates enough. Do you wanna stay over-" she began.

"Sorry, babe, I have to run some errands. I'll just stay at my place tonight."

"Oh, ok." They shared a quick kiss and she walked him to the door.

"Love you!"

"Love you too."

Her heart warmed as she closed the door, an involuntary smile on her lips. Kristen was about to head to bed when a knock came on the door.

"What did you forget?" she giggled as she reopened it, but to her chagrin it wasn't Nick. A disheveled and older man stood there, pizza in hand.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't order that," she said.

He stared at her for a moment. "I know."

He threw the empty box in her face, startling her, and tackled her to the ground. He covered her mouth and nose with a sickly sweet smelling cloth. Try as she might, Kristen couldn't hold her breath forever, and passed out. She was strong and athletic, but she was heavy and unnaturally powerful for someone his age. The chloroform was a bonus for her attacker as well.

Kyle Carroll stood up, satisfied. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be."


	18. The TV

**June 16**

Jethro the dog preceded Tim into their apartment, smelling fresh and clean. He had spent all day at the groomer's while his owner was at work. Now that he was back in his home, the pet felt that something was wrong. He smelled a new person's scent, one unfamiliar to him. Some of his military experience kicked in and he barked and whined, alerting McGee.

"What, boy?" Tim asked quietly. He noticed the small package in front of him just before he tripped on it.

The file sat in the middle of the room. It was too thick to slide under the door if it was shut- someone had to have opened the door and entered McGee's apartment!

Tim frowned and warily picked it up, absently unhooking Jethro's leash. The dog ran straight for his bed and curled up, moping about the day's bath.

The agent swept the apartment, now alert to a possible intruder. None was found, so he opened the folder, his eyes wide. This must have been some sick joke.

Inside was a collection of evidence, photos, and reports. This was obviously snatched from the Myso Valley police station. The reports of the only real 'incident' that ever occurred in the town were on top, written in a formal and somber tone.

Tim decided not to make himself go through the reports for his own sake. He skipped to an unfortunate photo and immediately regretted it.

He had never seen a picture of the wreck, and it made his heart race to see it now.

Two mangled cars, both turned in awkward positions. Bolts, tire pieces and unidentifiable items were scattered all over. There were multiple pools of blood, all running and intertwining. It told a gruesome horror story that Tim knew by heart. It reminded him of Andy Warhol's Death and Destruction photo series.

No bodies- they had all been taken to the hospital.

His stomach churned and he moved on. Most of the other photos were the same scene at different angles.

McGee knew there was a more extensive case file somewhere in NCIS since it did affect several navy families. Those files -paper and electronic- probably had _very_ graphic photos.

There seemed to be no reason why anyone would place this folder in Tim's apartment. He was about to just put it away and look at it in the morning when he came across a paper in scribbled red ink.

_Come alone Timmy, by Noon, June 17_

_She dies if you are one minute late_

_29 Danin Dr._

_Zip: 518_

A picture of an unconscious Kristen was on the back. It was a very current picture; K was obviously in her own apartment.

One look and it sent Tim running around his home. He threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed his gun, and picked up his phone and badge. He jumped into his desk chair and searched the address. It quickly came up as a house in Myso Valley. Tim scoffed at himself: of course it was. He took a moment to look at it on the street view. He instantly recognized it as the house James stayed at- his absent uncle's home.

Tim was in motion again. He had no idea who was behind this, but he was already running out of time.

The agent was faced with a dilemma: he couldn't go barging into an abandoned house on the other side of the country alone.

However, McGee also couldn't go to his team about this, could he? There was no telling what he was about to go up against. He wanted to keep this part of his life a secret and it would be dangerous to drag his team into the fight.

Put his surrogate family in danger, or go it alone?

If he didn't tell Gibbs, he would be facing the consequences later.

But it was better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission, right?

Rule 18 was going to save him or kill him.

Tim decided he would go in with local law enforcement, instead. He was all ready to leave when he was struck by an idea.

If something did go wrong, his team could at least know where he was. He texted Abby.

_"Hey Abs, its me. There's no time to talk. Tomorrow morning, please track my phone if I don't call in by ten."_

On his way out he dialed the airport to order a one way ticket to Alameda, California. The next flight left at eight his time. Just his luck- he had two hours.

* * *

When he got off the plane he headed straight for the Alameda NCIS headquarters. It was so late that few teams would be at work, but odds were _someone_ was available to help. When he got there, McGee was met with an unexpected sight.

Employees were filling around in the parking lot; ambulances and police cars surrounded the building, which had a gaping _hole_ in the side of it.

He caught the attention of a passing man with a bewildered expression.

"What happened?"

"Bomb went off. No one was killed, there's almost nobody here at this time of day, but there were some people hurt. The whole area is in chaos."

"No help from NCIS, then," Tim murmured worriedly. He wondered who would blow up such a minor NCIS office building, and not a bigger one like Los Angeles or even Pearl Harbor. He was glad that nobody was killed, of course, but now he had no help from local agents in NCIS, FBI or even police.

No time to stop. He was _not_ going to lose someone else if he could help it.

He acquired a car as quickly as he could and drove the long stretch of empty highway. When the minute town came into view, he sighed.

"Miss me?" he muttered to the town ahead.

...

The police station was empty.

"Naturally," Tim said angrily. It was locked and closed up. It was early in the morning by now- everybody was home asleep in their beds. There were probably only two men on duty, and who knows where they were. McGee looked through the window: it was dark and silent. He pulled out his phone, but there was no service.

Tim returned to the car and picked up the now-crumpled slip of paper with the address. He knew how to get to the house from there, but how could he possibly go it alone? He had to; time was running short.

He pulled up a few houses away from his destination, opting to sneak up to the side of the miserable shack. It was empty, but clean and much nicer on the inside. Someone inhabited this place.

A TV was on, a home video was playing. In it a man vaguely familiar to Tim sat behind a desk, reading through papers. He spoke aloud, facing the camera and sending glances its way.

Tim entered the house through the back, sweeping it quickly.

"NCIS," he called.

Nobody seemed to be at home in the one story building. Tim felt chills as he realized James Wilson once lived there. He remembered following Alex through the front door, ambushing J and dragging him to see a horror movie that ended up scaring them into barricading their doors that night. He smiled at the memory.

He turned his attention to the TV, where the video played on loop. The man was reading medical reports.

_"-spinal trauma, concussion, broken leg, broken wrist..."_

McGee frowned. He leaned towards the set, listening for more details. For the life of him, he couldn't place the speaker.

_"Alex Charter: gunshot to the torso, severe loss of blood..."_

Tim went pale as he realized what the video was saying.

_"Diana Fitz: concussion, multiple cuts of varying severity, two gunshots to chest..."_

What the-?

The video looped again, and the speaker started over.

_"James Wilson: ruptured discs, spinal trauma, concussion, broken leg."_

Just then, the front door burst open. The man in the video came rushing through. Tim turned and drew his gun to fire, but this man had the upper hand.

He quickly fired a shot to McGee's arm.

He yelped and fell, landing on his back. His gun slid away. Kyle smirked and leaned in close to the young man, who was gasping in pain.

"Ryan Carroll," he hissed. "Concussion, severe contusions, gunshot directly through the heart."

Through the overwhelming pain, Tim recognized this person. "You're Kyle- his brother..."

He was silenced with a good kick to his side. Carroll turned and opened a door in the ground, hidden under a rug. The NCIS agent cursed himself for missing it earlier.

The criminal pulled him up, then forced him down into the cellar and through a dim cinderblock hallway. With a gun pointed at his neck, Tim could do little but stumble along, clutching his wound with his good hand and trying not to panic.

The hall ended with an exceptionally heavy door, which Kyle slid back. Due to rust and years of disuse, it made a sound similar to nails on a chalkboard.

Inside on the dirt floor sat Kristen, leaning against a wall. The room was empty save one dangling lightbulb and the air conditioning vent, which Kyle nodded at approvingly.

"That cool air was a comfort when I was cleaning this place out," he said casually. "This place held tons of crack and booze. Great uncle your friend had."

He left then, and Tim turned to join his friend on the ground.

"Hey boy scout," she whimpered. Her head had a nice cut on it. It was not lethal, but it was enough to make her dizzy and weak.

"Hey yourself. You ok?"

"I've got a headache, so..." she trailed off. "I'm trying not to move to much."

He looked at her eyes- she most definitely had a concussion.

"How long have you been here?"

"I've lost track of time. But I was taken right after we talked about our trip on the phone."

"That was..." he tried to remember. "The fourteenth. Today it's the sixteenth..." he thought about it. "Or the seventeenth, rather."

He winced as a stab of pain went through him. Kristen finally noticed his wound.

"Oh my God! Tim, why didn't you tell me!?"

"It's pretty obvious. You're just concussed."

A withering glare shut him up.

"Good thing back up is coming for you, right?"

His pause made Kristen narrow her eyes.

"Back up isn't coming? You stormed in here ALONE?!" Her exclamation caused her head to throb, and she was silent again.

"Look, I tried to get backup. Don't worry, when I don't show up for work, my boss will go looking for me. He'll find us."

The unspoken 'eventually' rang loud enough to worsen Kristen's headache.

...

Their captor had yet to return, so they sat in the small room, waiting for either salvation or the end. Neither had the strength to get up and look for a way out. Tim was gradually becoming pale.

"Could be worse," Tim said through his clenched teeth.

Kristen narrowed her eyes and stared at him.

"Pray tell, Timothy. How could it possibly be worse?"

"Well, we could be in a mine shaft. In the dark. Loosing oxygen."

She frowned but said nothing as he continued.

"And there could be a decomposing body with us," he muttered.

Kris became thoughtful at that. "I guess I'm lucky," she admitted. "Cause I never saw it."

"I see it several times on a busy week," he said. "That's my job. But I rarely see a victim as bad as it was that day."

"Why would you continually put yourself through that? Don't you get nightmares? I would."

"You get used to it."

She waited in silence for the admittance that came. "I get nightmares a lot, actually. But what we've been through? Not even close to some of what my teammates have seen."

It was silent for a minute.

"What does he want with us?" she asked quietly.

"I.. am guessing some sort of revenge...he's Carroll's brother."

"That makes sense," Kristen said. "But why wait all this time?"

"I have a feeling he'll be back soon to let us know."

Another pause.

"Tim?" K began.

"Yeah? You ok?" he said with worry.

"Oh, yeah. I'm peachy," she quipped.

"Then what?" he growled, not in the mood.

"You suck."

Despite all the pain, he laughed at that. It was the best thing he had heard all day.

"Yeah I do."


	19. Revelations

**June 17 **

After another hour, Tim found the strength to get up. The bleeding in his arm had stopped almost completely thanks in part to a tourniquet he fashioned out of his belt. It wasn't comfortable, but it would have to do.

Sometime around two o'clock, Kyle came in and demanded McGee's phone. He also used a small airport metal detecting wand to confiscate his NCIS badge. After that he left without another word.

As Tim pulled himself up (using the wall for support) he groaned, and Kristen looked up at him.

"Do you need help?"

"No, no. Stay on the ground. You shouldn't be moving right now."

She obliged and continued to watch him struggle. When he was upright, Tim made his way to the door and pulled.

"It's locked of course," Kristen called. "You're not concussed too, are you?"

He sighed. "It never hurts to try, right?"

Glancing around the room, Kristen pursed her lips. "James never told us about this place. But I guess it was hidden, so maybe he didn't know."

"He knew," Tim said. "But he didn't want to tell Alex...You know. Charter would've had the idea to clear it all out and put it in the church donation basket or something."

She smiled fondly but frowned when she realized what Tim was saying. "Wait. Did you know about this place?"

"Not really," he said with a shrug. "J told me his uncle had a secret room where he kept his stash, but he never told me where it was. I can't believe I missed it. Under the rug..." he scoffed.

"Don't take too hard," K said. "I opened the door to a fake pizza guy."

"Huh?"

"That's how I ended up here," she confessed. "He just knocked on the door and I opened it to tell him I didn't order the pizza he was pretending to deliver."

Tim was about to reply when the latch on the door slid back with a bang. Kyle pulled the sliding door as far as it would move, entering with a gun and a baseball bat."

"Sit down," he ordered of Tim. He grabbed the wounded agent by the arm- the injured one, and shoved him back next to Kristen.

His demeanor changed almost immediately. He was suddenly the pleasant host of a party.

"Now," he said. "I apologize for the delay. I had to take care of some things. I am sure you are wondering what I am to do with you."

"Kill us?" Kristen muttered under her breath sarcastically.

"Eventually," he agreed cordially, as if he was talking about the prospects of rain in the afternoon. "I'll get around to that. But first..."

He placed the bat on the ground next to him and handled the gun. It was at all times pointed toward the prisoners.

"I thought that it would be fitting to let you die on June 28. It is the day that your friends died, yes? Early in the morning."

Tim winced.

"Well, my brother died that day too. Yes, you were right, he was my brother. Because of you he is dead. Actually, I read the report. You all had a part in it but your little friend shot him in the chest, right?"

Kristen narrowed her eyes and repressed a shiver.

"Anyway," the man said brightly. "I have spent lots of time reviewing he reports and medical exams. How're your hands, Timothy?"

McGee subconsciously flexed his hands and balled them into fists. "Just fine," he snapped.

"Oh good. So I figured that we would revisit...or rather...open old wounds, right? I know its been a long time but I'm sure you remember."

He picked up the baseball bat and looked at Tim for a moment. Then, quick as a flash, he swung in Kristen's direction. She was so taken by surprise that she did not get a chance to defend herself, and the metal bat collided with her collarbone, breaking it.

K screamed. Tim moved to help her but Kyle pointed the gun in his direction.

"Don't move," he said cheerily. He glanced at the writhing girl.

"For example," he continued his monologue. "Remember that, my dear?"

She could barely hear him over the sound of blood rushing in her ears, but Kristen spoke nevertheless.

"Never...forgot," she gasped, recalling the brace she had to wear for so long.

"I didn't think so," he said gravely. Then he grinned at McGee.

"Mr. Alex Charter was shot in the torso... Don't worry, I'm not looking for confirmation, I have it all memorized. I'm just recapping."

Tim's heart momentarily stopped; he braced himself for a bullet that he was sure would come.

"Oh no," Kyle assured him. "Not today. But you're getting the idea."

He took a step back and addressed them both.

"Your three friends sustained heavy damages in their last hours. Each day you will receive one of their major injuries- of my choice. Then, you will sustain some of the injuries my brother received. You are going to be atoning for your mistakes By then it will be the 28th. And if you're not dead already, you will be killed."

He looked at Tim once more. "I'll be right back."

Kyle left the room and closed the door behind him.

McGee rushed to Kristen's side. "What can I do?"

She sputtered through the pain. "You wouldn't by chance have something to brace my broken bone with?"

"No, sorry."

Kristen blinked at the tears as they ran down her face. "Help me lay down flat."

He gently put her on the ground. She coughed and groaned.

"Don't worry," he said quietly. "I have a plan. First step is to take him by surprise."

She was quiet for a minute; eventually the door was pulled back again.

"Well, my headache's gone," she said finally as Kyle reentered the room.

"Is it?"

McGee turned at the voice. There was the second Carroll brother, rope in one hand and gun in the other. He motioned for Tim to stand away from Kristen and approached them. He tied heavy knots around the agent's wrists and then tied the extra rope tight to a solitary pipe running along the wall.

Tim's arms were stretched up and over his head. He felt foolish, like a puppet.

Both Kristen and Tim were afraid that the crazed man would tie her similarly, which would be agony for the artist now that she had a major bone broken.

However, Kyle Carroll knew better. He simply tied her wrists together and connected them to the pipe via a long and loose cord. He realized that she would not be going anywhere and was simply making sure she didn't crawl towards Tim.

He stepped back to admire his work.

"I'll be back to bring you some food in an hour," he said. "It'll be up to you to figure out how to actually get it in your mouths."

He smiled again and exited, latching the door behind him.

"What's...with...the cheery...attitude?" Kristen huffed.

"It's from a movie," Tim said.

"Which one?"

"I can't remember. Ask my partner when my team gets here."

Despite her pain, she rolled her eyes at him. "Really?"

"Either that or he's happy to finally be able to kill us after all this time."

"Yeah...Tim, I'm adding another step to your brilliant plan. Step one is now to get out of the rope."

* * *

**Early That morning**,

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs said gruffly as he entered the bullpen with his second cup of coffee. Both Ziva and Tony were present, but their youngest team member was missing.

"No idea, Boss. Probably traffic," Tony said.

"I called his phone but it went straight to voicemail," Ziva said with a frown. "No answer at his home phone either."

Tony's frown matched hers. "He knows not to be unreachable, Boss."

"I know that, DiNozzo. Swing by his apartment," the agent in charge ordered. He hoped that Tim had just overslept, but his gut told him to be careful about this situation. McGee didn't sleep in; whenever he took off of work (a rarity) he told both Gibbs and Vance about it a week ahead of time.

Tony left with his gun, telling himself that the Probie was just stuck in traffic and his phone was dead.

When he left, Gibbs turned to Ziva. He was about to speak when Abby came running into the office, absolutely terrified.

"Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs! I got a text from Timmy. Is he not here?! "

He caught her and tried to make her focus.

"Abs, calm down. No, he's not here. What was the text?"

She showed him the phone, which he took and held away from his face- to read the small print. Ziva looked at it as well.

"Hey Abs, its me. There's no time to talk. Tomorrow morning, please track my phone if I don't call in by ten."

"It is not ten yet," Ziva said. "But it is strange that he would send you that."

"Did you track his phone?" Gibbs asked.

"It's running the search now," she replied with a sniffle.

The three of them went down to the lab and walked through the doors together. After a minute, the machine beeped.

"His phone is off, it can't track its current location," Abby said. "Luckily I have a program that records the history of the phone's whereabouts. Timmy wrote the program himself."

Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she spoke. Windows came up on the screen, showing a path that ran from Washington all the way to California.

"Why is his phone on the other side of the country?" Abby asked.

"He must be there," Ziva said.

"Not necessarily," Abby argued. "It might have been stolen."

"But how would he text you to track it if it was stolen?" Ziva reasoned.

"He...knew that it would be stolen?" The Lab Rat faltered, not liking her own statement. It didn't seem to make enough sense, even to her.

Gibbs said nothing. He knew what they needed to do, but felt guilty about invading his agent's privacy like a suspect. But if this was a matter of Tim's safety, then any measures were necessary. He turned to his favorite forensic scientist.

"Can you pull up his credit card history?"

Abby hesitated, but knew that the Boss would only ask her to go through Tim's private records if he thought it was important. She silently pulled up records dating through the past week.

The most recent purchases were the ones that caught Ziva's eye.

"A plane ticket to Alameda?" she asked. "He grew up there, yes?"

"Family emergency?" Gibbs asked, his low voice stating it more than asking it.

"I have Sarah's number, I can call her," Abby said. She scrolled through her contacts and found the younger McGee's name. It rang three times before Sarah's hushed voice asked, "hello?"

"Hey Sarah, its Abby. I was wondering...if everything is ok?"

There was a pause as Tim's sister considered the question. "Yeah everything's fine. Why?"

"No reason, your brother is just acting strange," Abby replied truthfully. She didn't want to worry Sarah, so she didn't tell her about Tim's absence.

"Oh, that's because its June," she said matter-of-factly.

"What does that have to do with it?" Abby asked curiously.

"Uhm...I'm sorry Abby I can't really talk right now. I'm in the library and the librarians are giving me looks..."

"Oh! Ok, sorry. Bye."

She hung up and turned to Gibbs and Ziva. "It's June...?"

"Call his grandmother," Gibbs said. "Have her come in."

Ziva went off to contact Penny, and Gibbs hugged the scientist.

"It's ok," he said. "We'll find him."

...

Tony didn't have a key to Tim's apartment. Actually he did have one, but it was at his house- he only had it for emergencies. If he had known he would be looking for his missing coworker, he might have brought it along.

Picking the lock was no problem, anyhow.

He got inside and was greeted by a happy Jethro. Usually the dog would be very unkind to burglars, but he knew the Senior Field Agent. Tony bent down to pet the him, but was showered with wet kisses instead.

"Ugh," he muttered. "Thanks."

The pet pranced back to his bed and laid down contentedly.

Tony stalked into the bedroom, planning on pouring ice cubes on a sleeping Tim's head for his trouble.

"Come on, McSleeper, time to get-"

He turned the corner into the room, and stopped when he saw that no one was there. Frowning, he backtracked into the living room. McGee's computer was off, as were all the lights. Jethro watched with curiosity.

"Where's Tim?" he asked absently.

Tony went to the bathroom and noticed that Tim's toothbrush, deodorant, and other toiletries were gone.

Puzzled, DiNozzo went back to the kitchen. He was about to give up and leave when he noticed that there was a rather thick file sitting on the table.

Tony grabbed it and sat down on the couch. Jethro jumped up next to him.

"Are you allowed to be up here?" Tony said to the dog. Jethro looked at him as if to say '_No, but get over it._'

Opening the file, Tony was met with gruesome photos of a car wreck. He grimaced as he saw the pools of blood. Having worked in big cities, Tony was used to seeing traffic wrecks. However, there were some things missing from the file. It was lacking any photos of victims- and one could tell that not everyone involved could have walked away from such a wreck.

Why would Tim have this?

This manilla folder was also much too thick to include simply one accident. The SFA skimmed through and noticed that there were extensive reports included.

Then a certain name caught his eye:

**TIMOTHY MCGEE, AGE 16**

He felt an electric shock to through him. He wasn't sure what exactly this was, but he felt that Tim was in trouble. He packed up all the notes and was about to leave when his cell buzzed.

"Yeah, Boss."

"DiNozzo. He there?"

"No. But you're gonna want to see this..."

...

He didn't drive like Ziva or Gibbs, but Tony made it back to the Navy Yard in record time. Upon arriving in the bullpen he slapped the file onto Ziva's desk. Abby and Gibbs were both there, as was Ducky. By that point the M.E. heard about Tim's suspicious whereabouts and had come to help investigate.

Palmer was on vacation with Breena that week and did not know about the incident.

"I don't know what this is," DiNozzo said. "But it involves McGee."

Ziva opened it and studied the pictures of the wreck.

"What is this?"

"Some report about a car accident," Tony said. "I didn't get a chance to go through the rest yet. I have no idea why Tim would have this."

"He was in an accident when he was sixteen, right?" Gibbs said.

"It might be that!" Abby agreed. "But there is a lot of blood."

"It's not the wreck he told us about. He said that the car was 1984 Camaro. Neither of these cars is a Camaro."

"Read the reports, Abigail," Ducky said, curious. She picked one up and passed it to Ducky. She kept the other one and Ducky read aloud.

"It's a police report. Dated June 30-"

"Wait. What is the report from? What town?" Gibbs asked.

"Uh, some town called Myso Valley."

Gibbs looked at Tony, who immediately got the hint. He searched it up on his computer.

"There is a Myso Valley, California. It's closest major city is Alameda."

"That's it!" Abby said. "Timmy flew to Alameda last night."

Ziva nodded. "What does the report say?"

Abby read it and said. "It says: the party of teenagers were pursued by the suspect, Ryan Carroll, when the vehicles collided. There was a struggle, during which timeTimothy McGee ran for help. He was met by Officer Jake Hughes, who rushed to the sight. At this time, Diana Fitz fired a defensive shot to the victim's chest. Both the suspect, and Diana collapsed, followed by Timothy. All four teens were rushed to the hospital. Carroll was dead on site and taken to the morgue."

"Confused?"

Five heads shot up at the voice. Penny Langston stood there, eyebrows raised.

"Ms. Langston-" Tony began.

"Penny," the woman smiled. She addressed them again. "I am sure you are confused by this report? Timothy most likely never showed it to you...where is he?"

Gibbs stood up and went over to her. "He didn't come into work."

"We were wondering if you knew where he was," Abby spoke up.

"I have no idea!" Penny said. "But how did you get that file, then?"

"It was on his kitchen table," Tony said sheepishly. "We dropped by to check on him and he wasn't home."

"Perhaps we should start by having this information cleared up," Ducky said. "Would you mind enlightening us, Penny?"

"Of course, Doctor Mallard. But Tim wouldn't exactly like me sharing this part of his life."

"It might help us to find him," Ziva said encouragingly.

The grandmother's eyes filled with alarm. "You don't think something bad has happened?"

"Not yet," Gibbs said. "But you can help us."

"Why don't we all go to the conference room to discuss this?" Ducky suggested calmly.

They all did just that, and when they were settled, Penny began.

"I used to live in a very small town called Myso Valley. I spent my summers there as a girl, and it was a nice retreat after all my time working for different big-time companies. It's the kind of town that everyone knows each other in. Anyways, during the summer Timothy would come to visit. Well, during that summer, four of his closest friends were also shipped out to Myso. James, Alex, Kristen and Diana. They were just awesome kids, all of them. The whole town loved them."

She paused and took a deep breath.

"They were out hiking on the edge of town, and they... witnessed something. I'm still not sure of what, but basically they overheard two criminals talking- and they were discovered. Now this is where it gets fuzzy. The kids were locked in some small confined space for several hours. Whatever happened that night still bothers Timothy, I'm sure. He looked pale as a ghost when he came home. Anyway, they were smart and escaped. The two- Ryan Carroll and his brother Kyle- found out and set to get them."

The ever so strong woman's eyes became a little glassy.

"James was hurt first. He fell over a cliff during a fight with Ryan Carroll. He was hospitalized. I wanted to send the kids home to Alameda, but they insisted on staying near him. They stayed indoors for safety after that. But the one time they did go out..."

The team could see where this was going, and braced themselves.

"The four of them were getting something to eat when they ran into the Ryan Carroll. There was a big fight at the restaurant. Alex was shot."

Abby gasped.

Kristen, Timothy and Diana piled into a borrowed car, and took off towards the hospital. There is this large stretch of land to get there...there was a road fight, and a crash."

She nodded towards the pictures Ziva was holding.

"Kristen broke her collarbone. All three of them had concussions and Timothy's hands were all torn up. They struggled, and he almost killed them. Diana shot him, but she was shot twice herself. Basically everyone at the scene collapsed when the police finally got there."

"Why didn't they get there sooner?" Tony asked hoarsely. He had no idea that his friend had been through so much when he was so young.

"There were only ten officers in town back then. And there was a jewelry store robbery at the exact same time. There was a hostage crisis, and the force was inexperienced with that sort of thing," Penny said angrily.

"Did they catch him?" Abby asked.

"No, he got away," Penny sighed. "But Ryan died."

"What about Timothy and his friends?" Ducky inquired.

"James died that night. Diana and Alex didn't make it either."

Abby's eyes filled with tears. Ducky and Ziva both looked moved and ashamed.

"All the time we have known him," Ziva said. "And he never said a word about it."

"Timothy and Kristen are very close today," Penny said. "They drifted apart some during high school, but made up eventually. She's an artist in New York."

"Ziver," Gibbs said.

"I will contact Kristen. What was her last name?"

"Macheer. I have her address as well," Penny offered.

"Tony, search up the file in our records."

"Yes, Boss."

They left to do their jobs.

"Abs. Take Penny with you. See if you can find anything else on where Tim went."

As they left the room, Penny and Gibbs made eye contact. He nodded at her: a promise to bring Tim home safe.

Then it was just him and Ducky.

"Why did he never tell us, Duck? Why didn't he come to me for help?"

"I don't believe Timothy felt comfortable involving you in a problem he might be having. He didn't even tell Penny where he was going- or Sarah, and he is her brother!"

It snapped for Gibbs at the word "brother". He got on the phone and called Abby's lab. She answered immediately.

"Nothing yet, Gibbs. I'm not that good!"

"It's ok Abs. Just keep looking. Put Penny on the phone."

"I'm here, Agent Gibbs," Ms. Langston's voice said over the speaker.

"What happened to Carroll's brother?" Gibbs questioned.

"Oh! Timothy assumed that he was dead. He told me that Ryan implied that. Why?"

Ducky had caught up with Gibbs. "Doesn't it seem strange that a jewelry store would be held up- at the same time that the force was needed to save the kids?"

"Oh my god! All this time and I never realized..."

"Don't worry," Ducky said with a chuckle. "Jethro is a professional- he's been doing this for a long time. Just find out what you can on him."

Tony reentered with an even thicker folder.

"It's got lots of pictures," he said.

They flipped it open and DiNozzo picked up a sweet photo of five kids. It was easy to see which teenager was Tim McGee- the thin one with the mousy hair and the big green eyes. On his right was Alex and Kristen. On the left was James, with Diana on his shoulders.

"Penny!" Tony called over the phone. "What did each kid look like?"

"Kristen is tall and athletic."

"The blond?"

Penny laughed. "Yes. Alex is the tallest. James is obviously the other boy, and Diana and is the petite girl with the spiky hair."

They hung up and Gibbs left to update Vance on the situation. Ducky and Tony continued through the file.

"Do you think McGee's ok, Ducky?" Tony asked. "I mean, he could have been visiting the town just because its almost the anniversary of the incident."

"If he was, Anthony, wouldn't he just take time off for it?" Ducky reasoned.

"Yeah... I just don't want to expect the worst."

Ziva opened the door and came to stand behind DiNozzo.

"Where is Gibbs?"

"With Vance. Did you call Kristen?"

"No answer at her home. She was reported missing a few days ago by her boyfriend."

Tony's frown deepened. "Well that's clue. Anything else?"

"Yes. Apparently she was planning a trip to California."

"What've you got?" Gibbs asked, returning. Ziva retold all that she knew.

As she was finishing up, she was interrupted by a small "oh my," from Ducky.

"What is it?" the Israeli asked, seeing Tony's pale complexion. She looked over to see three horrible pictures. They were all taken postmortem. All autopsy pictures.

The first was of James. His broken bones and other contusions made for a gruesome photo.

The second was of Alex. He looked just like he was sleeping, except for the wound in his side.

The third was of Diana. Her beautiful face was bruised and bloodied. A large cut down her shoulder was partially obstructed by the sheet covering her chest, as were the gunshot wounds that killed her.

Stoic Ziva felt herself incredibly saddened. She hated to lose kids- child and teen alike- to criminals.

But the worst photos were next. Everyone barely glanced at Kristen's photo (take after surgery) because they were too busy gasping at Tim's picture.

Their coworker, their friend, had never looked weaker. This photo was taken as he was entering surgery. Blood was seeping out of a gash in his forehead. His eyes were both black. His hands were indeed mangled, and his lip was cut. That and many more injuries on Tim's face indicated to the team that their friend was _more_ than lucky to be alive. For now.


	20. Pain and Plans

_Hey everyone! I know, I know, its been forever since I last updated. My apologies. But I should be finished the story by the end of this new week. Enjoy this short chapter. I will write a longer one tonight!_

**June 18**

Tim's head shot up, and he suppressed a groan. Sleeping while standing up was never comfortable; all he had for support was the wall behind him. He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep, but now that he was awake he regretted it. It was an odd situation- McGee was sure that this was the only time he ever truly regretted sleeping.

He was sore and battered, and realized with dread that today would be the first official day of "punishment". On the ground next to him was a sleeping Kristen, pale as one who was still alive could be. Tim's blood ran cold for a moment when he couldn't tell whether she was breathing or not. But her chest was rising and falling gently and if he listened very carefully, he could faintly make out the sound of her breaths. She was most likely in a lot of pain, but she was alive.

They were still tied up, even after the young agent had spent hours trying to use his weight to rip the rope off of the pipe, to no avail. Since he was awake, he figured he might as well try to get free again, so he set to it. The ropes were actually starting to fray around the edges, which was encouraging, but they would be dead before Tim would actually break them at the rate he was going.

Tim took a deep breath. What would Tony, Ziva or Gibbs do?

Ziva probably wouldn't have been so stupid as to get herself into this mess, and if she did, she would have a hidden knife somewhere. Tim had a knife- in his backpack in the car.

He wasn't completely sure what Gibbs would do; most likely stare the enemy into oblivion. However, Tim had the oh-so-fortunate experience of being held captive alongside Tony in Somalia. He knew Tony's strategy: just talk. Talk to stall, talk until a plan has been formed. Just talk.

Could he do that?

It was a matter of life and death, so yes, he could. But he didn't know what to say...

His thoughts were interrupted when the big sliding door was slid back and

Kyle stepped through, a large knife with him this time. Tim gulped.

"Well, how did we sleep-"

"You know my team is coming for you, you know," McGee rushed out. His cheeks went red. How very awkward that seemed. That was not how to DiNozzo your way out of something.

Their captor smirked amusedly. "I know. And I left them a fun little surprise to keep them off the trail for a little while. You see, I want them to find you. You just need to be dead first."

He strode over to Kristen and poked her side with the toe of his boot. She moaned and her eyes blinked open.

"Don't touch her," Tim snarled, unable to contain himself.

Kyle's head snapped around. He made eye contact with the NCIS agent and regarded him for a moment. Seeming to make a decision, he left Kristen alone. The artist was slowly regaining consciousness, but did not make a sound. She sent her friend a panicked look as the surviving Carroll brother approached him. Tim avoided her gaze. He instead stared at the person in front of him with defiance and contempt.

The disturbed man came up close to McGee's face.

"Your friend, Diana. Her shoulder had one large gash on it..."

He pulled Tim's shirt off his left shoulder, ripping it slightly. It was the least of his problems, but Tim couldn't help but mentally groan at the destruction of a comfortable shirt.

The exposure of McGee's shoulder gave him goosebumps. It was most likely the knife in front of him that caused the reaction, not the dry, dusty air.

Tim assumed the DiNozzo grin. "That looks sharp. How do you get it like that? My knife is so dull and for the life of me-"

It worked for only a moment. At the stupid conversation subject, the older man paused and stared at McGee like he was crazy. "I thought I gave her a concussion," he said sarcastically, gesturing to a horrified Kristen. Going back to the task at hand, he gently put the tip of the knife to rest on the top of Tim's shoulder. The young agent stopped babbling when he felt the knife, but he did not dare look at it. He went rigid and looked up, staring fixedly at his bound wrists above his head. With his heart rate accelerating and blood pumping furiously, Tim knew that Carroll could do serious damage to his arm.

Silence.

Kyle grinned and put the slightest bit of pressure on the knife. A small bit of blood appeared. It stung, but Tim could handle that much. His captor was getting some sadistic pleasure from this torture. He pressed hard on the blade, digging it effectively into McGee's shoulder.

Tim yelped in a brave attempt not to scream. Kyle pulled out his knife and then drove it in again, this time dragging it down Tim's shoulder. He did this twice, taking some sick relish in each of his prisoner's shrieks. He stepped back then, letting McGee breathe through the pain. Admiring his work, Kyle smiled, as if it was a fine painting he had created, not an agonized young NCIS agent.

He left without another word. He slid the door closed but did not bother bolting it, assuming that neither prisoner would be able to even reach the door.

"Tim," Kristen whispered. "I-"

"Don't," he panted, cutting her off. "I can barely hear you. Just wait a minute." There was an unpleasant rushing noise going on in Tim's ears.

She fell silent, guiltily staring at her friend. The new wound was producing a steady stream of blood that had now reached the top of his pants. She had to close her eyes to keep from vomiting.

Taking an inventory in her head, she counted their injuries collectively. She had a lingering minor concussion, and she was sure that Tim's head was dizzy and confused at the moment. His gunshot wound made his arm weak, not to mention his new shoulder infliction. She had a broken collarbone that made it hurt to breathe. Kristen believed that it must have been only a small fracture, but she was sure that she would face serious consequences if it didn't get it fixed soon.

Tim's head was down and his eyes were closed tight, so he didn't see what she was about to do.

Gritting her teeth, she put her arms out and slowly, painfully, sat up. She had to bite her tongue to keep from crying. Pulling and yanking as gingerly as she could, she loosened the rope from her wrists. They were hard to remove, but finally- freedom!

She gasped in delight, celebrating in her head. Tim still did not notice, though now his gasping and sputtering had ceased. He was pale but breathing normally.

Kristen used the now-dangling ropes to hoist herself up. Once she was standing, she leaned against the wall and inched along. Reaching Tim, she cleared her throat to get his attention.

His head shot up and he stared at Kristen, mouth agape. "K!"

"Shh!" she cautioned him. "Don't want to get us in trouble, do you? Are you alright? No, don't answer that."

She took a deep breath, then raised her hands over their heads to see to the bonds.

"Don't," Tim said.

"What, and let you stand there until we get killed? I'm just partaking in Part One of your genius plan to get us out of here- get out of the ropes."

"Aren't you in pain?" he asked quietly, genuinely concerned.

"Aren't you?" Kristen challenged.

Tim fell silent. She finished undoing his wrist, which fell at his side like that of a rag doll.

Kristen moved on to the next wrist, the left one. She was careful to ease his arm down so as not to aggravate his shoulder.

Tim's legs buckled and he fell to the ground, jostling his arms. He groaned and lay there for several minutes, regaining his strength. Kristen chose to stay standing, convinced that if she sat down she might not stand up.


	21. Final Countdown (Part 1)

_Alright everyone! Are you ready? Here we go...so this chapter is happening on June 18, the same day as the previous chapter. I'm breaking this chapter in two, so please take note of the times so that you can track Team Gibbs's progress as well as Tim's. Enjoy!_

Unreasonably early that same morning, Gibbs stepped off the jet, followed by Ziva and Tony. Deciding that it would be best to follow the clues that Tim left behind, they found themselves in California.

It was only a hop, skip and jump from the air field to the NCIS office of Alameda. To their surprise, the building had a hole in the side of it.

"Gibbs," Ziva said quietly. "You do not think that McGee was in the building and something happened?"

"No," Tony said. "His phone wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere if Tim got caught up in this."

Without a word, Gibbs turned and beelined to a much smaller building on the lot. Tony and Ziva followed.

Inside the structure was a secretary's desk. A prim woman looked up as they entered.

"May I help you?"

"What happened?" Gibbs asked, looking out the window at the damage, which was being cleaned and repaired by a diligent working crew.

"There was an attack, a bomb went off. No one killed, thank god!"

"When did this happen?" Ziva asked.

"What is today.. June 18th? It happened early yesterday, so-"

Gibbs was getting impatient. Noticing this, Tony cut in. "I'm sorry, but is there someone we can talk to about a missing person? We're from the Washington D.C. office." He showed her his badge.

"We understand that you must be very busy," Ziva said tactfully. "But if we could just use a computer and some forensic equipment we might be able to track-"

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs!"

The three agents turned to the door, where a man about Gibbs' age stood. He grinned broadly at the sight of the agents, and Gibbs grinned back at the sight of the man. He stuck his hand out to shake with the newcomer, who laughed.

"It's been a long time, Lewis," Gibbs said.

"I'll say!"

Lewis turned to Tony and Ziva. "This man saved my life! We knew each other back in the day, in the Marines."

"Sir, these agents were asking-" the secretary began.

"Help them with whatever they need." He turned to Team Gibbs. "I'm the Alameda director now. The old director quit after the explosion, so I can't stay and chat, what with all of this bomb craziness. If you need a dispatch team for something, Gibbs, I'm sure we could find you one later."

He left after that, and the secretary cleared her throat to get the agents' attention. "What will you need, Agent Gibbs?"

"Tony," Gibbs said, nodding to his SFA. DiNozzo produced a file and leaned on the secretary's desk. "We are looking for a man: Special Agent Timothy McGee."

She nodded and typed on her keyboard, going through records. She stared at the screen then looked up suddenly. "It's really interesting that you would come here now, because apparently we were contacted half an hour ago by police officers who reported a car crash on the road outside of town. There was no driver on the scene, but an ID was found. An NCIS badge was in a backpack, along with a wallet. Identification is confirmed as a Timothy McGee."

She printed directions to the site. "Police have been waiting for a response team for a long time now."

Gibbs nodded and headed out the door.

"Thank you," Tony said as he and Ziva hurried to catch up with the Boss.

...

Thanks to Gibbs, they reached the scene in no time at all, cutting a twenty minute drive in half.

The agents approached the crash site, which was on an isolated road surrounded by dense woods. Tony was out of the vehicle first, happy to be on firm ground after Gibbs' crazy driving. He saw the scene and stopped short, going slightly pale.

The officers at the scene were happy to hand off the wreck to the agents, and soon left.

Tim's rented car sat on the side of the road. It's front bumper was warped as the result of a collision- with a tree. The windshield was a mangled mess of spider-web cracks, and the driver's door was open, as though the driver had gotten out and simply walked away from the wreck. The air bag had gone off, and there were smears of blood on it and the rest of the front seat.

It was indeed Tim's car, there was no doubt about that. The description matched perfectly, and the license plate checked out with the rental agency Tim had visited. If that wasn't enough proof, Tim's backpack was in the trunk. In it sat his badge, wallet, and phone.

"Ziver," Gibbs said.

"I will call for backup," she responded.

Gibbs looked at Tony, who wore a grim expression. His lips were pressed together in a hard line and his eyebrows were knitted together.

"There's no way he got up and walked away from this, Boss," Tony stared finally. "Is there?"

Gibbs stared at the wreck and responded with a gruff "Photos, DiNozzo."

...

The backup team arrived from Alameda looking worse for wear. The attack on the Alameda office had ensured a stretched and exhausted set of NCIS agents. This team looked particularly bad; each had large circles under their eyes and were dead on their feet.

"Rough night?" Tony asked with real sympathy. They knew all too well the pain of a bomb attack.

"Yeah," the agent closest to him-a tall, muscular man- muttered. "Damn explosion."

"Do you know who or what caused it?" Ziva asked.

"No, they've got a task force working it now," he said.

There was an awkward pause, then Ziva said "All the same, thank you for helping us."

"No problem," another agent, a short young woman with big eyes, said. "We were lucky. Our whole team was unhurt during the explosion. But we know how it is to lose someone."

"Don't worry," the last agent, a tall thin guy, said. "We'll find your man."

"Thanks," Tony muttered. He looked at the agent who spoke last. "You look familiar...Did you play basketball in college?"

He shook his head. "No, football."

Gibbs approached them just then and the Senior Field Agent turned to his boss. "We're finished."

Gibbs nodded. "Load it up."

...

**10:30 am**

Despite the fact that it was still relatively early in the workday, the makeshift field office was buzzing with workers. While the main office building was being prepared, all of the case agents were using a secondary building as home base. It was loud and crowded, but it would do. Gibbs' team found their way to the temporary forensic lab. Though it was not half as extravagant as Abby's lab, it had most of the same machines. There were several forensic technicians running around, most likely processing evidence from the attack. Team Gibbs passed by them and walked to the back of the room, where a short man sat at his table. He faced a laptop screen, which held the face of Abby Sciuto via videochat.

"Hey Gibbs!" Abby greeted them as they came in view of the laptop camera. The forensic tech noticed them and stood.

"Agent Gibbs," he said cheerily. "I've heard a lot about you and your team."

"This is Daniel Parker," Abby explained. "We knew each other in college."

"Yes. Good times," Parker said with a smile. Noticing Gibbs' famous "I-don't-need-to-know-this" look, he cleared his throat and gestured to the pictures in front of him.

"We reviewed the wreck, and there are some things that, quite frankly, don't check out."

"Like what?" Tony said.

"Like the blood spatters," Abby said. "Or really, smears. In a car crash like this, blood from a driver would either drip onto things or spatter."

"No matter what it would do," Daniel put in. "It wouldn't do this. These stains are scattered around the front seat in splotches. It looks like someone wiped them onto the airbag and steering wheel with their hands."

"Do we even know if its Tim's blood?" Tony said, hoping that it wasn't.

"Unfortunately, yes, it is Agent McGee's," the scientist said.

The agents were silent for a moment, wondering what this meant for Tim.

"Is that all?" Gibbs demanded.

"No! We have more," Abby insisted.

"Yeah," her friend assured them, pulling out a set of records. "Obviously, we can't take reliable finger prints off of the car, since its a rental and any number of people could have used it. But we did manage to pull some prints off of Agent McGee's phone and badge. We found a couple of these..."

He drew up another window on the laptop screen, displaying full finger prints.

"They don't match Timmy's prints, Gibbs!" Abby said. "And they aren't in any criminal database, either."

Just then, one of the agents from the crime scene, the thinner man, approached the team. "Agent Gibbs, we have something to add to the report. After we left, I decided to call out some dogs to track your agent's scent based off of his backpack. Although they recognized his scent inside the car, nowhere around the scene did they find a trail. He wasn't around the area anytime recently."

"Gibbs! Do you know what this means? Well of course you do but..." Abby trailed off.

"It means the scene was set up," Gibbs said.

"McGee did not crash his car?" Ziva asked. "Then where is he?"

"I double checked Timmy's phone signal," Abby said. "It's weird, the phone went to that small town we talked about? Myso Valley? Then doubled back to the wreck. So the last place the phone was at before the car crash was Myso Valley. Timmy might be there."

"Considering his history with the place, it would make sense, Gibbs," Ziva agreed.

"Myso Valley..." Parker typed on his computer. "Ah, here it is. It's only an hour and a half from here? I didn't even know it existed!"

He gave the directions to the agents, who rushed out, leaving Abby and Daniel behind.

...

**10:30 am**

Tim opened his eyes to see Kristen staring at him. "Hey," he croaked.

"Hey," she said. "You passed out after I let you out of the ties. Its only been a couple hours, I think. Creepy has not come back yet to feed us or anything. I don't know what I would have done if he did."

Tim frowned. His shoulder was itchy. He sat up and tears sprang to his eyes; he had forgotten about his arms. There was a faint burning sensation in his bullet wound, and McGee realized that what he was feeling was the beginning of an infection.

"Your arm stopped bleeding. Actually, I'm not sure it did, I can't tell. There's too much blood around it," Kristen said, feeling nauseous at the thought.

"Yeah, it's stopped."

"And the air conditioner stopped working some time last night. That's why it's so stuffy in here," she informed him.

"Well, I would bet that its the reason Carroll hasn't come down here yet. He's probably fixing it himself, because it would be too risky having some repair man come here and do it for him."

"Why fix it at all?" Kristen asked. "Why not just let us suffocate to death?"

"He's enjoying himself, keeping us locked up like this. He wants to torture us, but he wants to keep us alive for a little longer."

"How _kind_ of him!" Kristen exclaimed in an exaggeratedly gracious voice.

Tim rolled his eyes but said nothing.

"So what are we going to do? How're we getting out?" she asked him.

"It wouldn't be hard to get out now," Tim said hesitantly.

"He left the bolt open," K said. "What an idiot."

"No, he's not exactly an idiot," Tim said. "He's arrogant, especially for assuming that neither of us would be able to reach the door."

"Well, I don't know if I can," she admitted.

"I know. I can. But what do we do when we get out of the basement? We can't sneak out of the trap door discreetly. He might be in that same room! And he's armed."

"So what? We wait until he comes back?" Kristen said irritably.

When Tim fell silent, she moaned. "I'm scared, Tim."

"I know. Don't worry, we're going to get out," he assured her.

"When is your team coming, by the way?" she asked patiently.

"I'm not sure."

"Why didn't you just go to the Alameda NCIS office?" she asked, remembering her childhood on the Naval Base.

"There was some explosion the morning I ended up here. I think it was a bomb? The whole Alameda field office was in disarray."

"Oh," she said simply.

Tim thought for a moment, then slowly moved to stand up.

"I'd help you, but I really can't," K said, trying hard not to jostle her collarbone.

"It's ok," he grunted. Once he was standing, he took a deep breath. Despite everything, he chuckled.

"It seems like we've been here for months," he said. "But this is only the second day for me. I was taken down here early yesterday!"

"Lucky you," she said.

"Oh right," he said sheepishly. "What is today, the fourth day for you? The fifth?"

"Something like that," she said absently. "So, do you have a new plan, Boy Scout?"

"I'm going to the trap door. If I hear him walking around, I'll come back and tell you. Make sure you to stay silent while the door is open."

She nodded, and he walked over to the sliding door. He inched it open as quietly as he could. With one final glance at Kristen, he crossed the threshold into the dim hallway. Tiptoeing down the hallway, he reached the stairs, and climbed up them silently. The stairs ended with the door to the house. It was closed, but Tim could hear their captor muttering to himself as he struggled with something that made a metallic noise. McGee assumed this to be the air conditioner.

Cursing to himself, the NCIS agent made his way back to the cellar. He slid the door closed again, effectively sealing in the room and making it soundproof.

"What?" Kris asked hurriedly.

"He is right there next to the trap door!" Tim said angrily. "There's no way we can just get out with him there. We don't have the element of surprise because he would hear us before we could actually get the door open. He might have the gun right there, and right now he is stronger than either of us."

The artist nodded. "So...?"

"So we wait until he comes down here, and we jump him," Tim said. "My team will get here for sure, but we can't wait that long. As soon as he comes down here to give us food, we take the upper hand."


	22. Final Countdown (Part 2)

**11:30 am**

Ziva seemed to take the statement "it's only an hour and a half from here" as a personal challenge, and the speed limit as more of a guideline than a law.

Consequentially, they arrived on the outskirts of Myso in about forty-five minutes.

"Awesome place," Tony said with a hint of sarcasm. He looked at the little town before them warily.

Ziva pulled up on the Main Street, where she navigated the road until she found the police station.

The inside of the station seemed to come straight out of an old western movie. Sparse jail cells sat empty in the back of the small front room. A heavy desk sat near the door, and behind it sat a white-haired man who stood up when Ziva entered.

"Morning, ma'am," he said politely. He nodded to Tony and Gibbs as they filed in after her. "Morning."

"Good morning," Ziva said. She pulled out her badge. "We are with NCIS. This is Agent Gibbs and DiNozzo. My name is Agent David. We are looking for someone named Timothy McGee-"

"You know Tim?" The man's eyes lit up. "He's a good guy. I've known him since he was a kid. Him and his friends." A pained look came onto his face.

"You know about that accident, then?" Ziva questioned cautiously.

"Know!? I was the officer on duty that night. I always wondered if I could've stopped those kids from dying..."

To keep the man from going too far into his memories, Tony spoke. "Where would he be? Do you know?"

The officer looked startled. "I didn't even know he was in town. But he could be in a couple places. It's not that big a town, obviously, but Tim McGee spent so much time here, I'd say he knows every inch of it."

"What places?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, you could check the diner, Tim and his friends spent a lot of time there... The movie theater, the park, and then- I don't know why he would- but he could be at Penny's old house, or the houses of his old friends. But, again, I don't know why he would be. No one lives in those houses now."

"Where are these sites?" Ziva asked.

"The park and the movie theater are on this road, in each direction...oh hell, let me just write the addresses down for you."

He took a few minutes to write the addresses on a notepad. The officer had to look through a file to find the addresses that Diana, Kristen, Alex and James stayed at. He sniffled a little as he put the dusty file away.

"Never thought I'd have to go through this thing again," he said. Writing the last of the information, he passed the note to Tony. "There you go."

"Thanks, Officer...?"

"Jake Hughes, sir."

Leaving the police station, the team found themselves back on the sidewalk. Gibbs took the piece of paper and ripped it in three.

"Boss?" Tony protested.

Without a word, Gibbs gave a set of addresses from the long list to each agent. He raised his eyebrow at Tony, who grinned sheepishly.

"Right. Sorry, Boss."

Each agent set off to their assigned tasks. Ziva took the movie theater and diner. Tony would pass by the park and Penny's old house. Gibbs would take Alex's house and James' home, as well as Diana's former residence.

"So, Boss, are we drawing straws for the car? Or...?" Tony stopped short as Gibbs pulled away in the car.

"Right," Tony muttered.

"Do not worry about it, Tony," Ziva said. "You could use the exercise."

...

**11:45 am**

Kyle Carroll got a certain thrill from going out in the daylight. It sounded ridiculous, but made a sort of twisted sense. It was a rush to think, when he smiled at the cashier in the Myso supermarket, that they all had no idea who he was. He was the man who held up that jewelry store all those years ago! He was the man holding two people in his basement now!

Carroll was almost finished fixing the air conditioning unit. One ancient piece had broken, and he headed to the hardware store to replace it. It was almost noon, so he planned on feeding Tim and Kris when he returned to the old house.

He decided to walk to the hardware store, given the lovely day. The short walk took him several minutes -he was in no rush.

Carroll bought the piece he needed from the hardware store. Next to the store was a movie theater, where he spotted a pretty young woman standing outside. He smiled politely as he passed her, and she smiled back. "Hello," he greeted cheerily.

"Hello," she said as he passed by. She seemed to think for a minute, then moved to catch up with him. "Excuse me, but could I ask you a question?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Have you seen this man? We are looking for him." The woman said, producing a picture from her pocket. Kyle stared at it for a minute, and realized with dread that it was Tim McGee. The smile fell off his face.

"I'm afraid not..." He decided to play clueless. "He's not a criminal, is he?"

"No, he's a good friend of mine, actually..."

Carroll noticed badge pinned to the belt on her cargo pants. "Is that an NCIS badge I see?"

She was about to respond when he said, "Lots of people around here are former military. My brother was, actually."

"I see," she said.

"But I won't keep you," he said. "Good luck with your friend."

He walked home faster than he came, the color drained from his face. Somehow, NCIS had figured it out.

Walking through the door of James' uncle's house, he threw down his AC piece and picked up his gun.

...

**12:00 pm**

Tim and Kristen were wilting in the now-stifling room. Carroll had yet to fix the air conditioner, but he was due to bring them lunch soon.

As neither prisoner knew the time, they weren't sure exactly when Kyle would come. Because of this, they had to stand ready on either side of the door at all times, waiting to act.

"Remember, when he opens the door, run as fast as you can to the phone upstairs," Tim reminded Kris.

"I know, Tim," she said. "But I don't like this. It's too risky for you. And what if you can't hold him and he rushes out of the room? I can't run fast enough to get to the phone in that case."

McGee contemplated the possibilities of this. "When you get out of the room, slide the door shut. Bolt it if you can. It's gonna hurt, but it will buy you time."

She nodded. They waited for another minute, and Tim scratched at his arm and shoulder as gingerly as he could without hurting them. Both wounds were itching and burning now, definitely infected.

Suddenly, the door began to slide open. Tim and Kristen tensed up. Tim crouched a little in preparation to tackle Carroll.

Kyle stepped through the door, but was pushed to the ground before he could notice that his prisoners were loose. Tim pinned him down.

"Go, Kris, GO!" he shouted, rather unnecessarily. She was already sliding the door closed. Taking a deep breath, she slid the bolt into place, hoping to god that Tim would be alright.

...

At FLETC, one of Tim's instructors mentioned that three things made a person unnaturally strong: Desperation, Self-Preservation, and Insanity. The agent wasn't sure which combination of the three applied to Kyle Carroll. Whichever, the old man quickly up, throwing Tim off of him. McGee landed on his bad shoulder, and his vision blurred for a second as it began bleeding again. He almost regained his bearings when a sharp kick was landed in his ribs.

Tim heard a crack and realized absently that the sound came from his own rib cage. He didn't feel it quite yet, but he was sure that he would soon.

Looking up, he saw a gun pointed in his face.

"Get up," the man sneered.

McGee had no choice but to obey. It was so odd, he felt like a teenager again, facing off against Kyle's brother.

Carroll seemed to see where Tim's thoughts were going. "Having flashbacks, are we?"

Tim took the opportunity to distract the man. "I was thinking about your brother. How he put up a good fight."

"He did, didn't he?" Kyle said with genuine pride.

"But, ultimately, he lost," Tim needled. "To a bunch of kids."

His opponent growled in frustration. Tim tried to stay strong, but he was beginning to feel where his ribs were newly broken. He continued anyway, with "He lost, mainly, to a small girl. Though in his defense, she was an unstoppable force of nature when she wanted to be-"

Kyle had become so angry he pistol whipped Tim. He might have shot McGee, but he felt a maddening impulse to defend his brother and make a point.

"But your little friends didn't come out alive, did they?! He took out three teens in one summer- two in one night!"

"That's only because the police couldn't come-"

"Which was his idea." Kyle snapped.

Tim widened his eyes in confusion. His vision was shifting in and out, but he somehow figured out what that meant.

"You-"

"Yes, I kept the police from coming. That jewelry store robber was me. It was my brother's idea so that the cops would be too busy to worry about a bunch of brats. I borrowed the idea the other day to distract NCIS in Alameda, too. That bomb and its aftermath will keep them busy for days. They're not coming for you. No one's coming for you."

"Navy brats," Tim said.

"What?"

"You said 'too busy to worry about a bunch of brats.' We were Navy brats."

...

Kristen had run up the stairs as fast as her weak, malnourished legs could carry her. She grabbed the phone in the kitchen and dialed 9-1-1. Her muscles were quivering under the strain, and she was crying from exhaustion, pain and fear. She squinted in the natural light coming from the windows, and put the phone to her ear.

"911, what's your-"

"Please, I need the police. I'm being held here against my will. My friend is fighting our captor right now. Hurry!"

She gave them the address, and prayed again.

...

**12:06 pm**

Tony, Gibbs and Ziva met in front of the police station, going over their progress.

"I did not see him anywhere, Gibbs. No one knew him at the movie theater, either," Ziva reported.

"Nothing at the park, Boss. Penny had a cute house, though," Tony said.

Gibbs looked at his agents. "Didn't Hughes say that no one was living at the old houses?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because one house had a car in the drive and someone was moving around inside."

Tony was about to respond when the door opened and Officer Hughes rushed out.

"Agent Gibbs! I just got a 9-1-1 call from someone in James Wilson's house- claims to be Kristen Macheer, Tim's old friend. Says she's been held hostage in the house the past few days."

Team Gibbs was already in the car, speeding to the house.

...

**12:07 pm**

Tim stared at the man, who was so angry he was shaking. He took the moment in a last-gasp effort; knowing that he was going to fall down soon anyway, McGee launched himself at this distracted, pathetic person. He collided with Kyle, tackling him to the floor. Carroll's hand was jostled, and he accidentally fired two shots into the ceiling. The gun flew out of his grasp. He kicked Tim in the ribs again and army-crawled to where his weapon lay.

...

**12:09**

Tony, Ziva and Gibbs shot out of their car, guns drawn. Tony quickly kicked in the door, and Ziva rushed through.

"NCIS!" she shouted in her most intimidating tone.

A whimper came from the kitchen. Ziva approached the sound and took in the sight before her- a weak and faltering Kristen Macheer. She cleared the room and heard Tony and Gibbs shout "Clear!" as they swept the rest of the house. Ziva tried to approach the artist, but she was waved off.

"The door! The trap door in the living room! Tim's down there!"

Ziva ran into the living room as Tony, who had heard Kristen, pulled open the door. Gibbs ran down the steps first.

...

**12:13 pm**

McGee had pulled Kyle away from the gun as fast as he could, but the old man grabbed the firearm anyway. He turned and fired two more shots. Tim, assuming he missed, grabbed the gun strait out of Kyle's hands. He stood up and faced the crazy man, who, with a loud shriek, jumped at Tim, who fired a shot of his own.

At that moment, the door slid back with a bang, and Gibbs rushed through, followed by the rest of his team.

"Boss!" Tim exclaimed in an exhausted voice. He turned to see Kyle Carroll fall down, dead.

Turning back to his team, he saw Ziva coming towards him quickly, a look of horror on her face. His chest felt prickly, so he looked down to see two big stains of blood on his shirt, where he had been shot.

As the life drained from him, Tim wondered if this was how Diana felt all those years ago, as the life drained from her.


	23. Surprises

**Hey everyone! Here is the last chapter- sorry it took so long. I promised my reviewers a surprise, so please read the note at the bottom when you're done reading the chapter. A special thank you to all my readers, if you could maybe tell me what you think, this might be my first story to reach 100 reviews! **

Christina Florez lifted her head as the doors to the emergency wing burst open. A couple of EMTs rushed a pair of gurneys into the waiting hands of the doctors and surgeons. Nurse Florez stood up from her station to watch them go by, assuming that they were victims of a car crash or some sort of freak accident.

It was not so, and to her horror, she dimly remembered the faces of the two new patients.

She was older, and they were older, but she would recognize Timothy McGee and Kristen Macheer anywhere.

After they were rolled away, she gasped in a shallow breath. It couldn't be them.. But a quick check with the EMTs confirmed her suspicion. Predicting that the doctors would need extra help for the two operations about to go underway, Christina went to prepare herself for surgery.

As she was passing the waiting room, she couldn't help but notice the frantic looks of the people who she assumed to be Tim and K's relatives: a tall good-looking young man, a silver-haired ex-marine (she could tell from the haircut) and an exotic young woman.

They looked desperate and frightened. If Christina hadn't been in a hurry, she would have stopped to comfort them. Instead, she made a promise to herself to make sure that Kristen and Timothy survived.

She just hoped she could keep it.

...

It's funny how history repeats itself. When Tim opened his eyes, in the same hospital, feeling the same chemically-induced drowsiness, it was like he was sixteen again.

He wasn't in the exact same room, of course- that would just be uncanny- but hospital rooms all look identical, so the sentiment was still there.

Practically everything was the same, save one detail that made McGee's heart rate accelerate rapidly.

He was alone.

There was no Penny sitting at the foot of his bed, no Kristen sitting by the window. The fact caused serious panic as he wondered where everyone was. There were no sounds coming from the hallway that might have given Tim a clue as to the time of day or even what day it was, making him worry that much more.

Trying to sit up was a horrible idea. Agony ripped through the veil of comfort provided by the IV in his hand, forcing him to slowly ease back down and take deep breaths until the pain subsided. McGee looked down at his chest and stared in confusion at the heavy layers of bandages there. His torso was sore and each beat of his heart felt like a bee sting.

_What happened?_

One shoulder was bandaged almost as heavily as his chest was. He turned his head to look at it blankly while the memories came rushing back to him.

The basement, the gun, the burning in his shoulder, Kyle Carroll's angry expression...

"Well, at least I didn't lose my arms," he muttered to himself, seeing that his shoulder wound and the bullet wound from before had both been neatly cleaned and tended to. Maybe the infection in his wounds hadn't been too bad after all?

McGee looked around for a call button. Finding one near his left hand, he pressed it lightly. A young nurse quickly came in, and smiled brightly at Tim's bewildered expression.

"Hello Tim," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh," he croaked, voice scratchy. "I don't know. Funny..weird?"

"That's the drugs talking," she giggled. "I'll tell the doctor you're awake."

She left him alone again, and he blinked, now fully conscious. Footsteps approached and he looked up to see an incredibly welcome face.

"Surprise!" she said gently, a smile playing on her lips. "You're alive, Tim. You're ok."

Kristen looked him up and down.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice still rough from disuse.

"Your team came to save us," K said. "They're awesome people, by the way. I've been talking to them ever since I woke up."

"Which was..?"

"Three days ago. 'Everything' happened seven days ago," she said. "The police will tell you the rest later. Basically...Carroll Brother Number 2 is dead. I didn't know you were such a good shot, Tim."

He ignored the last part sheepishly and decided to focus on more important things. "How are you feeling? Where's my team?"

"I'm good," she replied. "Collarbone is fixed and healing. Again. And everything else was minor. I didn't have a concussion after all, just a bad reaction to whatever Carroll put in my face when he kidnapped me. That and he hit me in the head at some point. And your team is getting coffee."

McGee smiled weakly.

A man in a white coat- the doctor, Tim realized belatedly- entered. "Good morning, Agent McGee. I'm Dr. Miller." He checked his notes, then referred to his patient's charts and the machines hooked up to him.

"What exactly happened to me?" the young agent asked.

"Well, you suffered a small gunshot wound to your arm, but it wasn't too dangerous. However, both that wound and the large cut in your shoulder were seriously infected by the time you were brought in. You were in grave danger of losing you arm, actually, but you're out of the woods now. You had a bad concussion too, but we took care of that."

Tim nodded slowly, processing each bit of information carefully.

"And of course, your chest. You received two gunshot wounds to the chest. One nicked a lung and broke two ribs. The other connected directly below your shoulder. Luckily it was not the shoulder already injured, or you would have lost it for sure. You should gain full mobility of your arm and shoulder with some physical therapy. Is breathing painful for you?"

"Only when I try to move while breathing," McGee said.

"It will go away with proper care and healing time. You might have to take extra special care of your lungs from now on. You are not a smoker, correct?"

"Correct."

"Good, that would complicate things. Do you remember anything about the day you were rescued?" the man asked, checking Tim's heart rate, pupils and breathing.

"Up until the last hour or so before I blacked out," he confessed.

"That's normal. Your memory may come back, but it might not. Nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, we will want to keep you for a few more days to monitor your progress."

He left after that, and Kristen cleared her throat. "I called Penny, who agreed to fill in Sarah on the details. She wanted to come out here, but I thought that you would want her to stay in D.C

He nodded in agreement. "What about your boyfriend?"

"Oh Nick! He's on tour... I called him to let him know that I was alive and ok, but with his schedule, he couldn't visit if he wanted to."

She smiled and then widened her eyes in surprise. "I forgot! Your team is waiting to see you."

Walking out, Kris called over her shoulder "one sec."

It didn't take long for Tony to stick his head around the door. "Hey Tim!"

"Hey Tony," Tim said, grinning in spite of himself. DiNozzo came in to the room, and Ziva followed in her usual quiet manner. "Hi Ziva."

"Hello McGee," she smiled. "I am glad to see you are awake."

"You scared us a bit there," Tony confessed.

"You're not the only one who can get killed and still live, DiNozzo," Tim snickered. "

"It takes practice," Tony said proudly.

"Ha! More like luck," Ziva mocked.

They fell silent, and Tim opened his mouth to speak. He closed it again, but finally said, "Thanks for coming for me, guys."

"You would've done the same for us," Tony shrugged.

"You have done the same for us," Ziva corrected.

He smiled, happy to have everything right in his world for the first time in weeks.

...

Leroy Jethro Gibbs entered his agent's- his son's- room and stopped next to Tim's bed. McGee looked up when the team leader sat down, but said nothing. Neither man wanted to be the one to bring up the inevitable conversation, so they simply stared at each other for a minute. Realizing that he would have to begin, Tim sighed.

"I guess you know about everything that happened to us, then," he began. "The whole story..."

"Just what your grandmother told us and what we found in your file."

Gibbs was silent again, waiting for Tim to say something. McGee shifted uncomfortably before starting again.

"Boss-"

Gibbs gently smacked him upside the head.

"Wanna explain your reasoning behind this one, McGee?" Gibbs said, not angry, but expecting a good answer.

"Rule 18, Boss," the younger agent said quietly. "I didn't want to get you all in trouble or worse, and I figured it would be safer for everyone if I skipped the permission part and just asked for forgiveness later."

"Safer for everyone, Tim?" Gibbs said skeptically, staring at his surrogate son in the hospital bed.

"Well, safer for everyone else...I'm sorry, Boss."

Gibbs put a hand on Tim's shoulder. "Losing you wouldn't help anyone. Come to us next time, or at least tell us where you're going."

"I promise, there won't be a next time," McGee said with a smile. "But..." There was nothing more to say, he realized, and settled with a "Thanks, Boss."

...

Several days later, McGee stared at the spot. To a normal person it might look like a simple stretch of road, but to Tim, it was a memorial. A small cross was on the side of the concrete, placed there years ago, but he viewed a totally different scene from the one in front of him.

Tim blinked and he could suddenly see two wrecked cars in the night. There was so much blood, and a couple of teens wrestling a grown man for the weapon in his hand. Shots were fired-

"Having flashbacks, are we?" a familiar voice asked.

The NCIS agent turned to see Kristen, standing a few feet away from him, holding a bouquet of flowers. He hadn't even noticed her drive up and park behind his car.

She moved up beside McGee as he smiled and turned back to the imaginings. He made a point not to mention that those were Kyle Carroll's exact words to him during their fight.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he said quietly, putting his good arm, the one that wasn't in a sling, around her in a comforting way.

"Hey now, Tim. I have a boyfriend, you know," she snickered.

Rolling his eyes, he shoved her away from him. "Way to ruin a good moment, Kris."

"Sorry, it was getting too mushy and emotional for me."

"Avoiding emotions, now?" he needled, knowing it to be her way of coping with stress.

"Yeah," she said indignantly, daring him to challenge the statement.

"Really?" he grinned, challenging it anyway. "Because, according to Ziva, you were a hysterical mess when they found us. That sounds like emotion to me..." He dodged a nudge to his battered rib cage.

"Shut up," she muttered.

They fell silent after that, staring at the spot in the road where their lives had changed so violently.

"Let's go," Tim said finally. "I promised to meet the team at the diner."

"Ok, I- oh wait!"

The artist ran up to the little cross. She sniffed and slowly bent down, placing her flowers at its base. When she turned around, Tim hugged her, pretending not to notice that she was crying.

"Come on," he said. "I bet they'll give us our old booth."

"I'm sure they've named it after us by now," Kristen smiled.

"First one there buys?"

"Of course."

They ran to their cars, ignoring their injuries, happy to be racing towards the town, rather than away from it.

Summer really was the best season to be a kid in Myso Valley, California, and while they weren't 16 anymore, Tim McGee and Kristen Macheer were like kids again.

The End

**A/N: Hey everyone! So that's it- or is it?! Nope, there's more. Remember that surprise I promised way back to all my reviewers who didn't want the characters to die? Specially for you, I am proud to announce my new story, This Summer, an alternate ending to Flashback. What if the kids all survived, grew up, and came to cheer up Tim during summer of 2013, after he quit his job he loved so much? Will be posted separately and ASAP. **


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